CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Stock Price Down 1.7% on Disappointing Earnings

Shares of CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) fell 1.7% during trading on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as low as $51.58 and last traded at $52.37. 509,367 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 1,746,713 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.29.

The company reported ($1.43) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.35) by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $0.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.53 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.67) earnings per share. CRISPR Therapeutics’s revenue was down 99.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRSP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Thursday. TheStreet raised CRISPR Therapeutics from a “d+” rating to a “c” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Barclays cut their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $80.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CRISPR Therapeutics news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 19,582 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.91, for a total transaction of $1,173,157.62. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 208,122 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,468,589.02. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other CRISPR Therapeutics news, CFO Raju Prasad sold 3,524 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.69, for a total value of $256,159.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,476 shares in the company, valued at $470,740.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 19,582 shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.91, for a total transaction of $1,173,157.62. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 208,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,468,589.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 83,992 shares of company stock valued at $6,132,335 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jump Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 194.7% in the third quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 33,307 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,512,000 after acquiring an additional 22,006 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 1.5% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 136,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,179,000 after buying an additional 2,061 shares during the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 8,536,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $534,360,000 after acquiring an additional 1,372,986 shares in the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $206,000. Finally, Baker Chad R lifted its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 89.1% in the 4th quarter. Baker Chad R now owns 98,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,167,000 after acquiring an additional 46,420 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

CRISPR Therapeutics Trading Up 0.5 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $4.55 billion, a PE ratio of -27.32 and a beta of 1.80. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.56.

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.