CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Stock Price Down 0.3% – Should You Sell?

Shares of CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) dropped 0.3% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $41.96 and last traded at $42.11. Approximately 411,593 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 1,895,333 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.22.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on CRSP. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Chardan Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $98.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. StockNews.com raised CRISPR Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, December 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.59.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $42.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.03 and a beta of 1.67.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($1.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.42) by $0.41. The business had revenue of $0.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.65 million. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 12.15% and a negative net margin of 118.13%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($1.41) earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 196,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,931,554.80. This represents a 13.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CRSP. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 22,217 shares of the company’s stock worth $874,000 after buying an additional 645 shares during the period. Farrow Financial Inc. increased its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Farrow Financial Inc. now owns 20,097 shares of the company’s stock worth $777,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Intellectus Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 7,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 16.2% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $171,000 after purchasing an additional 606 shares during the period. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich bought a new position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $211,000. 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.