CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Sets New 1-Year Low - Should You Sell?

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $32.96 and last traded at $34.03, with a volume of 3968336 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.99.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com raised CRISPR Therapeutics to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on CRISPR Therapeutics from $66.00 to $57.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $99.00 in a report on Friday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $73.11.

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CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Down 0.0 %

The company has a 50-day moving average of $42.15 and a 200 day moving average of $44.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.80 billion, a PE ratio of -7.47 and a beta of 1.85.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported ($0.44) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.15) by $0.71. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 981.54% and a negative return on equity of 18.46%. As a group, equities analysts predict that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel James R. Kasinger sold 2,850 shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.42, for a total transaction of $120,897.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 77,530 shares in the company, valued at $3,288,822.60. The trade was a 3.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 18,360 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.20, for a total transaction of $1,013,472.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 171,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,473,037.60. This represents a 9.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 32,381 shares of company stock valued at $1,608,243 in the last ninety days. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CRSP. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 1.9% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 12,477 shares of the company's stock valued at $586,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 32.0% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 31,712 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,490,000 after purchasing an additional 7,688 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 13,640.8% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 32,703 shares of the company's stock worth $1,536,000 after purchasing an additional 32,465 shares during the period. Readystate Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth about $336,000. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,992,988 shares of the company's stock worth $140,611,000 after purchasing an additional 599,304 shares during the last quarter. 69.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.