CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the twenty-one research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have assigned a hold recommendation and eleven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $67.8421.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on CRSP shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $52.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $77.00 price target (down previously from $87.00) on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on CRISPR Therapeutics from $42.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th.

Insider Activity at CRISPR Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 50,895 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.91, for a total value of $3,456,279.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 254,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,262,789.91. This represents a 16.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel James R. Kasinger sold 1,076 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.60, for a total transaction of $71,661.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 83,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,554,573.20. This represents a 1.27% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 56,213 shares of company stock worth $3,810,458. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of CRISPR Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Jasper Ridge Partners L.P. boosted its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 43.2% during the third quarter. Jasper Ridge Partners L.P. now owns 10,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $692,000 after purchasing an additional 3,223 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 10,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $681,000 after purchasing an additional 1,937 shares in the last quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC now owns 113,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,324,000 after buying an additional 1,569 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 27.5% in the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 9,413 shares of the company’s stock valued at $610,000 after buying an additional 2,033 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 2.5% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 779,930 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,547,000 after buying an additional 18,815 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

CRISPR Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ CRSP opened at $55.32 on Tuesday. CRISPR Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $30.04 and a 12 month high of $78.48. The company has a market capitalization of $5.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.90 and a beta of 1.89. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $62.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.87.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.32) by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $0.89 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.74 million. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 1,273.70% and a negative return on equity of 21.23%. On average, analysts anticipate that CRISPR Therapeutics will post -5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

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.