BofA Merrill Lynch analyst Tazeen Ahmad called Sarepta (SRPT) his top small-to-mid cap biotech pick for the second half of the year, citing several near-term catalysts. Investors have mostly focused on m-dystrophin in Duchenne muscular dystrophy, or DMD, but he believes its pipeline in limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, or LGMD, is not yet fully reflected in the current valuation and thinks catalysts from LGMD will drive upside in the back half of 2019, Ahmad tells investors. Competitor Pfizer (PFE) reports clinical data at PPMD on June 28, which could be a catalyst for Sarepta, as could potential approval of Golodirsen in the U.S. by its August 19 PDUFA date and low dose functional benefit data from the LGMD2E study at WMS in October, said the analyst. He has a Buy rating and $200 price target on Sarepta shares.

Bullish option flow detected in Pfizer with 50,393 calls trading, 2x expected, and implied vol increasing over 2 points to 28.83%. Sep-24 27.5 calls and Mar-25 42.5 calls are the most active options, with total volume in those strikes near 27,600 contracts. The Put/Call Ratio is 0.21. Earnings are expected on May 1st.