CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Trading 2.8% Higher Following Analyst Upgrade

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) shot up 2.8% on Thursday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $88.00 to $89.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. CRISPR Therapeutics traded as high as $57.19 and last traded at $57.11. 273,490 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 1,825,960 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.56.

CRSP has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $61.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. TheStreet upgraded shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from a “d+” rating to a “c” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CRISPR Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.29.

Insider Activity at CRISPR Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.36, for a total value of $1,607,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 187,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,057,615.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Raju Prasad sold 3,524 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.69, for a total transaction of $256,159.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,476 shares in the company, valued at approximately $470,740.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.36, for a total transaction of $1,607,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 187,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,057,615.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 133,992 shares of company stock valued at $9,157,835. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRSP. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 12.5% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,124 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 2,521 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management grew its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 32.7% during the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,052 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 80.7% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. 69.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $73.51 and its 200 day moving average is $63.34. The company has a market capitalization of $4.77 billion, a PE ratio of -28.65 and a beta of 1.76.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period last year, the company posted ($1.41) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3253.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -6.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CRISPR Therapeutics Company Profile

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.