CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Shares Up 2.8% – Here’s Why

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) shares rose 2.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $43.48 and last traded at $43.16. Approximately 244,018 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 2,193,486 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.99.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on CRSP. StockNews.com upgraded shares of CRISPR Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $53.00 to $48.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays boosted their price objective on CRISPR Therapeutics from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Chardan Capital dropped their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.11.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $43.03 and a 200-day moving average of $45.63. The stock has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.64 and a beta of 1.77.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported ($0.44) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.15) by $0.71. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 981.54% and a negative return on equity of 18.46%. On average, research analysts anticipate that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.16 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 18,360 shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.20, for a total transaction of $1,013,472.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 171,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,473,037.60. The trade was a 9.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel James R. Kasinger sold 2,850 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.42, for a total value of $120,897.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 77,530 shares in the company, valued at $3,288,822.60. This trade represents a 3.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 32,381 shares of company stock worth $1,608,243. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 3.3% during the third quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,271 shares of the company’s stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 16.8% during the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 40,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,895,000 after buying an additional 5,803 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $298,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 7.8% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 34,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,603,000 after acquiring an additional 2,478 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 43.9% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,818 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,000 after acquiring an additional 860 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.