CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Trading 0.5% Higher – Still a Buy?

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP)’s stock price was up 0.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $42.94 and last traded at $42.02. Approximately 363,337 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 81% from the average daily volume of 1,938,730 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.81.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CRSP. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $53.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Chardan Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of CRISPR Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, December 30th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $84.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $86.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.38.

CRISPR Therapeutics Price Performance

The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.38. The stock has a market cap of $3.55 billion, a PE ratio of -14.70 and a beta of 1.68.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($1.01) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.42) by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $0.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.65 million. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 118.13% and a negative return on equity of 12.15%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($1.41) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at CRISPR Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.10, for a total value of $826,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 181,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,002,854. This represents a 7.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate 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 CRSP. Baker BROS. Advisors LP raised its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 743.1% during the 3rd quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 843,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,608,000 after purchasing an additional 743,075 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position 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 buying an additional 599,304 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 5,269.3% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 83,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,267,000 after acquiring an additional 81,464 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 2,047.4% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 60,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,382,000 after acquiring an additional 57,696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at $1,825,000. 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.