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

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP)’s share price was up 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 changed hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 2,193,486 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.99.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CRSP shares. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $86.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $89.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.11.

CRISPR Therapeutics Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.06 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.56. The stock has a market cap of $3.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.64 and a beta of 1.77.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported ($0.44) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at CRISPR Therapeutics

In other news, General Counsel James R. Kasinger sold 2,850 shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 18,360 shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 171,613 shares in the company, valued at $9,473,037.60. This trade represents a 9.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 32,381 shares of company stock valued at $1,608,243. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of CRISPR Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP increased its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $40,000. 69.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.