CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Earns “Buy” Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reissued their buy rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) in a report issued on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a $88.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on CRISPR Therapeutics from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. JMP Securities restated a market outperform rating and issued a $86.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $80.00 to $67.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $75.71.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of CRSP opened at $60.57 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $5.14 billion, a PE ratio of -22.27 and a beta of 1.78. The business has a fifty day moving average of $56.95 and a 200 day moving average of $65.00. CRISPR Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $37.55 and a 52-week high of $91.10.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported ($1.43) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.35) by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $0.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.53 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.67) EPS. CRISPR Therapeutics’s revenue was down 99.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that CRISPR Therapeutics will post -5.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at CRISPR Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 19,582 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.91, for a total value of $1,173,157.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 208,122 shares in the company, valued at $12,468,589.02. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of CRISPR Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRSP. Blue Trust Inc. bought a new position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC increased its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 1,000.0% during the 4th quarter. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. lifted its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 66.7% during the first quarter. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. now owns 500 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. grew its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 257.6% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 608 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. 69.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.