CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Shares Up 3.7% – Here’s Why

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP)’s stock price was up 3.7% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $42.16 and last traded at $41.99. Approximately 517,363 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 1,902,664 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.49.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on CRSP shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $98.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. HC Wainwright assumed coverage on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. Finally, Chardan Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $94.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.59.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.03 and a beta of 1.67. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $42.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.78.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($1.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm posted ($1.41) earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CRISPR Therapeutics news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 15,000 shares of CRISPR Therapeutics 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. The trade was a 7.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRSP. ARK Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 8,973,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,180,000 after purchasing an additional 1,474,439 shares during the last quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP lifted its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 743.1% during the 3rd quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 843,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,608,000 after acquiring an additional 743,075 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,992,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $140,611,000 after purchasing an additional 599,304 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $3,231,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 5,269.3% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 83,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,267,000 after acquiring an additional 81,464 shares during the period. 69.20% of the stock is currently 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.