CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Trading 4.7% Higher – Here’s What Happened

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP)’s share price was up 4.7% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $46.73 and last traded at $46.50. Approximately 495,549 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 2,338,765 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.40.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on CRSP shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on CRISPR Therapeutics from $53.00 to $49.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on CRISPR Therapeutics from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays raised their price objective on CRISPR Therapeutics from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on CRISPR Therapeutics from $53.00 to $48.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CRISPR Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.40.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.95. The company has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a PE ratio of -10.05 and a beta of 1.67.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported ($0.44) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.15) by $0.71. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 18.46% and a negative net margin of 981.54%. Research analysts expect that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.10, for a total value of $826,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 181,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,002,854. This trade represents a 7.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John Greene acquired 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $44.85 per share, with a total value of $313,950.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $313,950. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CRISPR Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Boston Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Family Office LLC now owns 9,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $459,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC lifted its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC now owns 26,357 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,238,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 12,477 shares of the company’s stock worth $586,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the period. Intellectus Partners LLC lifted its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 7,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $281,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Farrow Financial Inc. lifted its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Farrow Financial Inc. now owns 20,097 shares of the company’s stock worth $777,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

CRISPR Therapeutics Company Profile

CRISPR Therapeutics is a gene-editing company focused on developing transformative gene-based medicines for serious diseases using its proprietary CRISPR/Cas9 platform. CRISPR/Cas9 is a revolutionary gene-editing technology that allows for precise, directed changes to genomic DNA. CRISPR Therapeutics has established a portfolio of therapeutic programs across a broad range of disease areas including hemoglobinopathies, oncology, regenerative medicine and rare diseases.