CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) Short Interest Update

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) was the target of a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 19,100,000 shares, an increase of 5.4% from the December 31st total of 18,120,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,670,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 11.4 days.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Down 3.8 %

Shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock opened at $40.00 on Tuesday. CRISPR Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $36.52 and a twelve month high of $91.10. The company has a market cap of $3.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.13 and a beta of 1.67. The company’s 50 day moving average is $43.55 and its 200 day moving average is $46.95.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($1.01) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $0.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.65 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($1.41) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that CRISPR Therapeutics will post -5.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CRISPR Therapeutics news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.10, for a total transaction of $826,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 4.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of CRISPR Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 26.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 7,556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 1,574 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC raised its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 45.0% in the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 12,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $667,000 after acquiring an additional 3,832 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 14,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $797,000 after acquiring an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 4.8% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 4,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $381,000. Institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRSP has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays decreased their price target 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. 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. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $98.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $86.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.59.

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.