Needham & Company LLC Reiterates Buy Rating for CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP)

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $84.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 66.80% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on CRSP. Rodman & Renshaw assumed coverage on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of CRISPR Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on CRISPR Therapeutics from $60.00 to $53.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Barclays cut their price objective on CRISPR Therapeutics from $67.00 to $59.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Chardan Capital decreased their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $112.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.19.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of CRSP stock opened at $50.36 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $47.22 and its 200-day moving average is $52.25. CRISPR Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $43.42 and a 52 week high of $91.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a PE ratio of -15.59 and a beta of 1.67.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($1.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.42) by $0.41. The business had revenue of $0.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.65 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($1.41) EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that CRISPR Therapeutics will post -5.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at CRISPR Therapeutics

In related news, General Counsel James R. Kasinger sold 1,089 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.28, for a total transaction of $50,398.92. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 62,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,896,989.16. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other CRISPR Therapeutics news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 4,293 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.28, for a total transaction of $198,680.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 226,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,484,271.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel James R. Kasinger sold 1,089 shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.28, for a total transaction of $50,398.92. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 62,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,896,989.16. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CRISPR Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SFE Investment Counsel boosted its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. SFE Investment Counsel now owns 5,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $316,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 4.8% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC boosted its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 44.0% in the first quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC now owns 720 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 35.0% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 848 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 95.5% during the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 565 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. 69.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.