CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Shares Up 1.1% - Here's Why

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 1.1% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $43.38 and last traded at $42.85. Approximately 343,451 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 2,232,332 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.37.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on CRISPR Therapeutics from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $53.00 to $48.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $66.00 to $57.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $73.11.

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CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.80 and a beta of 1.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $43.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.63.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at CRISPR Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 18,360 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Julianne Bruno sold 1,198 shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.42, for a total value of $50,819.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,263 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $350,516.46. This trade represents a 12.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,381 shares of company stock valued at $1,608,243. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRSP. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $71,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 108.6% in the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 6,165 shares of the company's stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 3,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 690,191 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,166,000 after purchasing an additional 13,865 shares during the last quarter. 69.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.