CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Shares Up 0.5% – Still a Buy?

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CRSP shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays decreased their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $86.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Friday, December 20th. StockNews.com upgraded CRISPR Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, December 30th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on CRISPR Therapeutics from $98.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CRISPR Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $78.38.

CRISPR Therapeutics Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.60 and a beta of 1.68.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($1.01) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.42) by $0.41. The company had revenue of $0.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($1.41) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at CRISPR Therapeutics

In other CRISPR Therapeutics news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was 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 owns 196,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,931,554.80. This trade represents a 13.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Market Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $461,000. Capital Advisors Inc. OK raised its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 8.1% during 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 period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 3.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,008,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,383,000 after purchasing an additional 35,196 shares during the period. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $2,375,000. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 599,304 shares during the period. 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.