CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Shares Gap Up After Strong Earnings

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $39.62, but opened at $40.67. CRISPR Therapeutics shares last traded at $43.17, with a volume of 1,429,207 shares traded.

The company reported ($0.44) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.15) by $0.71. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 12.15% and a negative net margin of 118.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Chardan Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $94.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com upgraded CRISPR Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, December 30th. TD Cowen upgraded CRISPR Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $35.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America dropped their price target on CRISPR Therapeutics from $98.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $86.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $75.28.

Insider Activity

In other CRISPR Therapeutics news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 181,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,002,854. This trade represents a 7.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRSP. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 272,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,734,000 after purchasing an additional 22,414 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $17,458,000. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd increased its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 166.3% in the fourth quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd now owns 36,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,427,000 after buying an additional 22,647 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Congress Wealth Management LLC DE bought a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth $222,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Up 9.2 %

The business’s 50 day moving average is $42.45 and its 200-day moving average is $46.40. The firm has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.29 and a beta of 1.67.

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.