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A logo sign outside of the headquarters of Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc, in Cambridge.
TRIPPLAAR KRISTOFFER/SIPA/Sipa USA via AP
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BIOTECH
Amid 'unwinnable' FDA fight, analyst cuts estimate of Sarepta shares to $0
Shares of Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. have zero value following the recent back-and-forth between the drugmaker and US regulators that could lead to a market withdrawal of its Elevidys treatment, according to analysts at HC Wainwright & Co. LLC. Analysts led by Mitchell S. Kapoor on Monday slashed their price target on the stock to $0 — a rare move — from $10, while maintaining a sell recommendation. The cut comes as the drugmaker refused to voluntarily pause shipments of its lead therapy following a request by the US Food and Drug Administration after three deaths were linked to the company's gene therapies. 'We view this battle with the gatekeeper US regulatory agency as unwinnable,' Kapoor wrote in a note to clients. 'Since the request for voluntary action was likely a courtesy, we expect the FDA to ultimately require removal of Elevidys from the market.' Kapoor added that 'in the absence of future Elevidys revenues, we see no intrinsic value left in SRPT shares.' Representatives of Sarepta did not immediately respond to a Bloomberg News request for comment. Sarepta's issues with the FDA stem from reports of three patient deaths following the use of its gene therapies. Two teenage boys died of acute liver failure in recent months after taking Elevidys for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a muscle-wasting disease. Last week, the company said that a 51-year-old patient died of acute liver failure in June in an early-stage trial of a gene therapy to treat limb-girdle muscular dystrophy. The FDA on Friday said it placed a hold on gene therapy clinical trials for that specific muscle disease. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
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FINANCE
Not just checking and savings but investment accounts are boosting cash in Americans' hands
New research finds that more Americans are shifting their money from checking and savings accounts into financial vehicles that pay an investment income — a trend that helps to explain the resilience of the US economy after a bout of
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A container ship at the Port of Oakland in Oakland, Calif.
Ben Margot/Associated Press
ECONOMY
Key gauge of shipping slows for second straight month
The number of shipping containers carrying imports to the United States fell for a second straight month, a private gauge showed, putting the economic indicator on course for one of the sharpest year-on-year reversals on record as President Trump's tariffs disrupt purchases of goods from abroad. Inbound container volume fell 7.9 percent in June from a year before, after a 6.6 percent drop in May, veteran industry analyst John McCown wrote in a monthly report Sunday based on the 10 largest US ports. The declines more than wiped out a nearly 10 percent increase tied to inventory front-loading in April, and left the second quarter down 1.8 percent from a year earlier. 'The downward turn in 2025 will be due to tariffs and unfortunately there is nothing at present that suggests it will be short-lived,' McCown wrote. McCown said he was only aware of two periods of annual volume declines — during the global financial crisis and the pandemic — and both were short-term slumps. He estimated that a 25 percent reduction in US container volumes is 'readily possible' and would translate 'directly into a $510 billion reduction in annual commerce for the US.' The total value of goods in containers moving through US ports last year was $2.2 trillion, according to McCown's data. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
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FEDERAL BUDGET
CBO projects 'Big Beautiful Bill' will boost deficits by $3.4 trillion
President Trump's recently enacted tax and spending law will add $3.4 trillion to US deficits over a decade and leave millions without health care coverage, according to a new estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The CBO score for the law, released Monday, reflects a $4.5 trillion decrease in revenues and a $1.1 trillion decline in spending through 2034, relative to a current-law baseline. The new analysis doesn't incorporate so-called dynamic effects, such as the impact on growth or interest rates over time that the legislation's measures might have. Trump signed the 'One Big Beautiful Bill' into law on July 4 after months of negotiations with congressional Republicans. Encompassing much of Trump's economic agenda, it permanently extends his 2017 income-tax cuts and some breaks for businesses, lifts the cap on federal deductions for state and local taxes, and eliminates taxes on tips and overtime on a temporary basis, among other provisions. Passage of the law triggered warnings from some economists and investors about a widening of America's budget shortfall — already large by historical standards — that could push borrowing costs and inflation up. The Trump administration points to record collections from the tariffs he's imposed on most US imports this year, saying that revenue will help fill the gap. A number of spending cuts were included in the tax law in an effort to reduce deficits and offset the cost, including to Medicaid, which provides health insurance for low-income people. — BLOOMBERG NEWS
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The Hill
5 hours ago
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