Needham & Company LLC Reiterates Buy Rating for CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP)

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $90.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 48.34% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $82.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on CRISPR Therapeutics from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on CRISPR Therapeutics from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CRISPR Therapeutics has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.75.

CRISPR Therapeutics Trading Down 3.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CRSP opened at $60.67 on Thursday. CRISPR Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $37.55 and a 12 month high of $91.10. The stock has a market cap of $5.15 billion, a P/E ratio of -30.95 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a 50 day moving average of $74.01 and a 200 day moving average of $62.98.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.95. The firm had revenue of $201.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $148.72 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($1.41) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3253.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that CRISPR Therapeutics will post -6.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at CRISPR Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.50, for a total transaction of $1,250,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 187,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,711,062.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, General Counsel James R. Kasinger sold 2,801 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.26, for a total transaction of $219,206.26. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 60,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,701,078.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.50, for a total transaction of $1,250,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 187,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,711,062.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 134,410 shares of company stock valued at $9,234,677. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of CRISPR Therapeutics

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 10.8% during the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 2,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management raised its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 32.7% in the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 80.7% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 582 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 22,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $900,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. 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.