CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Trading Down 2% - Here's What Happened

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report)'s stock price was down 2% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $49.31 and last traded at $49.44. Approximately 584,895 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 2,371,877 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.43.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CRSP shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $89.00 to $82.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $86.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $66.00 to $57.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $53.00 to $48.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $74.40.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $4.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.96 and a beta of 1.67. The business's 50-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 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 net margin of 981.54% and a negative return on equity of 18.46%. On average, analysts forecast that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at CRISPR Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 18,360 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 171,613 shares in the company, valued at $9,473,037.60. This trade represents a 9.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of CRISPR Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CRSP. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $71,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 108.6% during the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 6,165 shares of the company's stock worth $238,000 after acquiring an additional 3,210 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 690,191 shares of the company's stock worth $27,166,000 after acquiring an additional 13,865 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 101,600 shares of the company's stock worth $3,999,000 after acquiring an additional 1,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 53,102 shares of the company's stock worth $2,090,000 after acquiring an additional 8,120 shares in the last quarter. 69.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.