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Last Week’s Highlights
Sarepta surges on expanded therapy
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has expanded the use of Sarepta Therapeutics’ gene therapy for patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy aged four and older. As a result, shares of the company went up by 36% on Thursday’s extended trading. The therapy, Elevidys, received traditional approval for patients four years and above who can walk, as well as accelerated approval for those who cannot. Despite some regulatory delays and questions about its effectiveness, the therapy has been granted expanded approval. The approval is seen as a significant development for Sarepta and could require them to scale up their capacity. Sarepta has also partnered with Roche for commercialization of the gene therapy outside the United States.
Spirit Aero up on Boeing’s buyout deal
Shares of Spirit AeroSystems rose 6.00% following a report that Boeing is close to a deal to buy back the airplane parts supplier following progress in separate talks with Airbus over a transatlantic breakup of the struggling supplier. Talks hit a stumbling block over Spirit’s work for Airbus, but the companies have made progress in dividing Spirit’s programs. The deal could come within days or weeks. Airbus is also seeing progress in talks with Spirit, and a deal over Spirit’s Airbus-related assets is more likely than not before Airbus’ mid-year earnings in July. The potential buyback by Boeing is to secure safety and quality in its plants, and it is also linked to concerns over Spirit’s financial and industrial resilience and the need to invest in digital production systems. Airbus and Boeing had been working to overcome obstacles related to inventory costs and the value of contracts.
Coming Up This Week
Nvidia to launch in Middle East
Nvidia has signed a deal with Ooredoo to deploy its AI technology in data centers across five Middle Eastern countries. This agreement allows Ooredoo to offer clients direct access to Nvidia’s AI and graphics processing technology. The deal will enable Ooredoo to better assist its customers in deploying generative AI applications. The value of the deal was not disclosed, and the specific Nvidia technology to be installed will depend on availability and customer demand. Ooredoo is investing $1 billion to expand its regional data center capacity and plans to separate its data centers and undersea cables and fiber network into separate entities.
Tencent’s new game has a blazing start
Tencent Holdings may have a bestselling gaming title for 2024 with Dungeon & Fighter (DnF) Mobile, which recorded impressive first-month revenue in China. The game’s success is seen as a significant boost for Tencent’s domestic gaming division, and despite a broader slump in China’s financial markets, Tencent’s share price has rallied by nearly 40% over the past six months. Barclays’ Jiong Shao has a Buy rating on Tencent’s stock with a $59 price target, implying a further 21.1% potential upside.
