CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Price Target Raised to $32.00 at Morgan Stanley

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP - Free Report) had its target price boosted by Morgan Stanley from $30.00 to $32.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an underweight rating on the stock.

CRSP has been the topic of several other reports. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $86.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $66.00 to $57.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $53.00 to $48.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $98.00 to $85.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $74.40.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CRSP traded up $2.57 during midday 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.48 and a beta of 1.67. The stock'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 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 118.13% and a negative return on equity of 12.15%. As a group, analysts anticipate that CRISPR Therapeutics will post -5.08 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CRISPR Therapeutics news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 15,000 shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.10, for a total value of $826,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 181,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,002,854. The trade was a 7.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of CRISPR Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CRSP. Highline Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Institutional investors 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.