CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Trading Down 5.5% – Should You Sell?

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) dropped 5.5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $52.03 and last traded at $52.13. Approximately 871,891 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 42% from the average daily volume of 1,491,238 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.15.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CRSP. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Chardan Capital cut their price target on CRISPR Therapeutics from $112.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $120.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of CRISPR Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.94.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Down 6.8 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $48.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.58.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($1.01) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.42) by $0.41. The business had revenue of $0.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period in the prior year, the business posted ($1.41) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, General Counsel James R. Kasinger sold 1,089 shares of CRISPR Therapeutics 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 trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.62, for a total transaction of $1,668,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 196,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,931,554.80. This represents a 13.24 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,382 shares of company stock valued at $1,917,679 over the last three months. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SFE Investment Counsel lifted its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 3.6% in the second quarter. SFE Investment Counsel now owns 5,846 shares of the company’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,606 shares of the company’s stock worth $249,000 after buying an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Boston Family Office LLC boosted its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Family Office LLC now owns 9,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $459,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC increased its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 0.8% in the third quarter. Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC now owns 26,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,238,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 35.0% in the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.