CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Trading 1.2% Higher – Time to Buy?

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) shares were up 1.2% on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $41.11 and last traded at $40.48. Approximately 531,733 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 1,919,014 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on CRSP shares. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $53.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $86.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CRISPR Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.59.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Up 0.0 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.12 and a beta of 1.67. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $43.55 and a 200-day moving average of $46.95.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($1.01) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.42) by $0.41. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 118.13% and a negative return on equity of 12.15%. The business had revenue of $0.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.65 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.41) EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.10, for a total transaction of $826,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 181,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,002,854. This trade represents a 7.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Baker BROS. Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 743.1% in the third quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 843,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,608,000 after acquiring an additional 743,075 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 25.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,992,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $140,611,000 after purchasing an additional 599,304 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 5,269.3% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 83,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,267,000 after purchasing an additional 81,464 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 2,047.4% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 60,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,382,000 after buying an additional 57,696 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth $1,825,000. 69.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.