CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Trading Up 0.9% - Still a Buy?

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 0.9% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $44.27 and last traded at $43.72. Approximately 352,232 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 2,230,294 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.31.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on CRSP. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $84.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $89.00 to $82.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $35.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $60.00 to $99.00 in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $66.00 to $57.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $73.11.

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CRISPR Therapeutics Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.95 and a beta of 1.77. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $42.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.67.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported ($0.44) 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%. Research analysts predict that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at CRISPR Therapeutics

In other news, Director John Greene acquired 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of $44.85 per share, with a total value of $313,950.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $313,950. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 18,360 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.20, for a total transaction of $1,013,472.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 171,613 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,473,037.60. The trade was a 9.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of CRISPR Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. ARK Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 8,973,064 shares of the company's stock valued at $353,180,000 after purchasing an additional 1,474,439 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,743,523 shares of the company's stock valued at $344,145,000 after purchasing an additional 816,789 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 39.2% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,811,708 shares of the company's stock valued at $150,029,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074,238 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 25.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,992,988 shares of the company's stock valued at $140,611,000 after purchasing an additional 599,304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 1.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,376,166 shares of the company's stock valued at $111,632,000 after purchasing an additional 23,075 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.20% of the company's stock.

About CRISPR Therapeutics

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.