CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Upgraded by Evercore ISI to Outperform Rating

Evercore ISI upgraded shares of CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP - Free Report) from an in-line rating to an outperform rating in a report published on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Evercore ISI currently has $99.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $60.00.

CRSP has been the topic of several other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on CRISPR Therapeutics from $66.00 to $57.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Bank of America cut their price target on CRISPR Therapeutics from $98.00 to $85.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $86.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com upgraded CRISPR Therapeutics to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Chardan Capital decreased their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CRISPR Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $74.40.

CRISPR Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ CRSP traded up $2.57 during trading on Friday, hitting $52.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,020,362 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,335,658. CRISPR Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $36.52 and a fifty-two week high of $91.10. The company has a market cap of $4.46 billion, a PE ratio of -18.48 and a beta of 1.67. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $41.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.98.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported ($0.44) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.15) by $0.71. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 12.15% and a negative net margin of 118.13%. Analysts expect that CRISPR Therapeutics will post -5.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at CRISPR Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 15,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.10, for a total value of $826,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 181,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,002,854. This trade represents a 7.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP boosted its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 1,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $70,000. 69.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.