CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Trading Down 3% - Should You Sell?

Shares of CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) dropped 3% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $42.78 and last traded at $44.17. Approximately 861,832 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 2,232,304 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.53.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $86.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on CRISPR Therapeutics from $66.00 to $57.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $84.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $73.11.

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CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a PE ratio of -9.65 and a beta of 1.77. The company's 50 day moving average price is $43.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.65.

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 return on equity of 18.46% and a negative net margin of 981.54%. Equities research analysts expect that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.16 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at CRISPR Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 18,360 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel James R. Kasinger sold 2,850 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 77,530 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,288,822.60. This trade represents a 3.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,381 shares of company stock valued at $1,608,243 over the last three months. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of CRISPR Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRSP. ARK Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 8,973,064 shares of the company's stock valued at $353,180,000 after buying an additional 1,474,439 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,743,523 shares of the company's stock worth $344,145,000 after acquiring an additional 816,789 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 39.2% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,811,708 shares of the company's stock worth $150,029,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074,238 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 25.0% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 1.0% during the 3rd 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. Hedge funds and other 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.