Sarepta Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:SRPT) shares jumped Friday, after the Food and Drug Administration said it remains committed to working with companies that are trying to develop treatments for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The FDA said it had asked Serepta to provide additional data on eteplirsen to address concerns that the clinical trial didn't accurately measure dystrophin, a protein that strengthens muscle fibers and is deficient in Duchenne patients. The agency will allow Sarepta to submit data for the drug's approval on a rolling basis.After all portions of the application are submitted, the FDA said it expects to grant the drug "priority review," which would speed up the review time to six months, compared with 10 months during a standard review. Shares of Sarepta Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:SRPT) were up 11% at $17.41 recently, in at 52-week range of $12.12 to $40.12.Viad Corp (NYSE:VVI) reported better-than-expected Q3 financial results yet issued a mixed outlook for Q4, with expected losses higher than the consensus and revenue above Street estimates. The trade show company reported Q3 earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, of $1.04 per diluted share, up from $0.53 per diluted share in the year-ago period and topping the Street consensus of $0.98. Revenues jumped 36.1% year-on-year to $299.8 million, higher than analyst forecasts of $293.2 million.For Q4, Viad Corp (NYSE:VVI) expects a loss of $0.20-$0.30 per share versus the consensus for a loss of $0.05 per share and revenues expected between $215 million and $230 million, above the Street forecast of $207.4 million. Paul B. Dykstra, chairman, president and CEO said, "Our strong third quarter results reflect the benefit of positive show rotation, continued same-show growth and better than anticipated visitation to our new Glacier Skywalk attraction. The acquisitions of the West Glacier Motel & Cabins, the Apgar Village Lodge and related assets, and Blitz Communications also added to our revenues and profits during the quarter."CEVA, Inc. (NASDAQ:CEVA) received an investment-rating upgrade to neutral from sell Friday from Chardan Capital Markets, which cited the licensor of silicon intellectual property's recent strength in non-baseband licensing activity. The firm also raised its target price on CEVA, lifting it to $15 per share from $13 per share previously. The new target is 5.8% above the stock's Thursday closing price of $14.18. It has a 52-week range of $12.56 to $18.93 and was inactive in recent pre-market trading.The upgrade comes a day after CEVA, Inc. (NASDAQ:CEVA) reported it swung to a Q3 profit on a 41% jump in revenue. Licensing and related revenue for Q3 2014 was $8.7 million, more than double the prior-year period's $3.9 million. "While historically the company has benefited and suffered from its exposure to the baseband market, the recent activity in the non-baseband licensing suggests to us that the company maybe on the verge of breaking away from its dependence on the baseband market," Chardan told clients in Friday, noting CEVA expects its non-baseband shipments to grow from 100 million units in 2013 to between 700 million to 900 million units by 2018. The firm added: "The company concedes that this transition could take time and as such, we remain cautious on the trajectory of contribution from these non-baseband opportunities. That said, for investors, we believe there exists minimal risk to the downside from current levels."
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