CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Stock Price Down 2% Following Insider Selling

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) shares dropped 2% on Friday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $49.31 and last traded at $49.44. Approximately 584,895 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 2,371,877 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.43.

Specifically, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 18,360 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.20, for a total value of $1,013,472.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on CRSP. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $86.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 13th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on CRISPR Therapeutics from $53.00 to $49.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.40.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Down 5.0 %

The business has a fifty day moving average of $42.25 and a 200 day moving average of $46.04. The firm has a market cap of $4.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.96 and a beta of 1.67.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 158.7% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,844 shares of the company’s stock worth $181,000 after buying an additional 2,358 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics during the third quarter worth approximately $70,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the third quarter worth approximately $1,825,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 15.9% in the third quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 40,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,906,000 after purchasing an additional 5,567 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 21.5% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $146,000 after purchasing an additional 545 shares during the period. 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.