Sarepta Therapeutics (NASDAQ:SRPT) shares shot 21% higher on Wednesday as the beleaguered company won a kind of reprieve when the regulator Food and Drug Administration said it is delaying its review of a key drug made by the firm.
The FDA notified Sarepta that "they are continuing their review and internal discussions related to our pending NDA for eteplirsen and will not be able to complete their work by the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) goal date of May 26, 2016," Sarepta said, in a statement.
"The FDA has communicated that they will continue to work past the PDUFA goal date and strive to complete their work in as timely a manner as possible."
The news said more about the FDA's inability to vet and report back in a timely and orderly fashion, but some analysts said that they had given an outcome of a delay a one-third chance - which therefore means that there was a two-thirds chance it would have delivered on time on Thursday.
That helped spike the shares, as did a TheStreet.com article a month ago which led shares to gain 20% too. Read more here.
Sarepta's Eteplirsen is a drug for the treatment of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
Sarepta shares were last seen up 20.7% at $22.26.
But whether the stock continues to rise is another matter. Many investors are betting against Sarepta as almost 54% of its shares outstanding are sold short, according to FactSet.