CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and ten have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $71.75.

Several research analysts have issued reports on CRSP shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CRISPR Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $81.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $86.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, June 27th.

CRISPR Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CRSP opened at $52.73 on Wednesday. CRISPR Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $30.04 and a 12 month high of $63.68. The stock has a market cap of $4.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.67 and a beta of 1.82. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $43.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.48.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported ($1.58) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.27) by ($0.31). CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 20.08% and a negative net margin of 1,023.64%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.43) EPS. CRISPR Therapeutics’s revenue was up 71.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that CRISPR Therapeutics will post -5.16 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at CRISPR Therapeutics

In other news, insider Naimish Patel sold 3,932 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.94, for a total transaction of $141,316.08. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 6,068 shares in the company, valued at $218,083.92. The trade was a 39.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 182.9% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,952,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,262,560 shares in the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 13.3% in the first quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 10,165,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $345,929,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192,336 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 39.2% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,811,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,029,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074,238 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,743,523 shares of the company’s stock worth $344,145,000 after purchasing an additional 816,789 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 6,769.1% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 583,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,864,000 after purchasing an additional 575,235 shares in the last quarter. 69.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.