CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Trading Up 3.7% – Still a Buy?

Shares of CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) shot up 3.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $42.16 and last traded at $41.99. 517,363 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 1,902,664 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.49.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $98.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com upgraded CRISPR Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, December 30th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.59.

CRISPR Therapeutics Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.83 and a beta of 1.67. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.85.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($1.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $0.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.65 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.41) EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 15,000 shares of the company’s 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 $10,002,854. This represents a 7.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 4.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Market Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth $461,000. Capital Advisors Inc. OK lifted its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 8.1% in the third quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 300,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,122,000 after purchasing an additional 22,583 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 2,047.4% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,008,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,383,000 after acquiring an additional 35,196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,992,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,611,000 after buying an additional 599,304 shares in the last quarter. 69.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.