CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Trading Down 4.1% - Should You Sell?

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) shares dropped 4.1% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $49.22 and last traded at $50.86. Approximately 1,325,701 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 44% from the average daily volume of 2,376,089 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.02.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRSP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI raised shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $60.00 to $99.00 in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $53.00 to $49.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $86.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $74.40.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Down 5.0 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.96 and a beta of 1.67. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $42.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.04.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported ($0.44) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, analysts anticipate that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at CRISPR Therapeutics

In related news, 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 value of $1,013,472.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 171,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,473,037.60. This represents a 9.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $43,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP lifted its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 1,000 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $70,000. Institutional investors 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.