StockNews.com Upgrades CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) to “Sell”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Chardan Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $53.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $86.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CRISPR Therapeutics has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.93.

CRISPR Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ:CRSP opened at $39.36 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.91 and a beta of 1.62. CRISPR Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $38.20 and a 1 year high of $91.10. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.52.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($1.01) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.42) by $0.41. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 118.13% and a negative return on equity of 12.15%. The business had revenue of $0.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.65 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($1.41) EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that CRISPR Therapeutics will post -5.13 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at CRISPR Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.10, for a total transaction of $826,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 181,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,002,854. This trade represents a 7.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel James R. Kasinger sold 1,089 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.28, for a total transaction of $50,398.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 62,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,896,989.16. This trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 50,382 shares of company stock valued at $2,744,179. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRSP. SFE Investment Counsel boosted its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. SFE Investment Counsel now owns 5,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 4.8% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,606 shares of the company’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Boston Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 2.2% during the third quarter. Boston Family Office LLC now owns 9,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $459,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC now owns 26,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,238,000 after purchasing an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 35.0% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 848 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. 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.