CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Shares Down 3.9% – Time to Sell?

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP)’s share price was down 3.9% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $40.82 and last traded at $41.63. Approximately 586,834 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 2,241,707 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.34.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on CRISPR Therapeutics from $66.00 to $57.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com raised CRISPR Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $84.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.11.

CRISPR Therapeutics Trading Down 2.2 %

The stock has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a PE ratio of -9.70 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a fifty day moving average of $42.88 and a 200-day moving average of $45.71.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 value of $1,013,472.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 171,613 shares in the company, valued at $9,473,037.60. The trade was a 9.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John Greene purchased 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $44.85 per share, with a total value of $313,950.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at $313,950. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRSP. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP boosted its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

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.