CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-two analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have given a hold recommendation and twelve have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $68.35.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on CRSP shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company set a $75.00 price target on CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Monday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, Chardan Capital dropped their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $82.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ CRSP opened at $58.19 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.41 and a beta of 1.70. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.92. CRISPR Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $30.04 and a 52-week high of $78.48.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CRISPR Therapeutics news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 50,895 shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 254,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,262,789.91. The trade was a 16.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel James R. Kasinger sold 1,076 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.60, for a total transaction of $71,661.60. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 83,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,554,573.20. This represents a 1.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 56,213 shares of company stock worth $3,810,458 over the last quarter. 4.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRSP. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 28.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 142,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,856,000 after acquiring an additional 31,392 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics during the 1st quarter worth approximately $861,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 6,769.1% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 583,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,864,000 after purchasing an additional 575,235 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP grew its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 34.3% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 136,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,645,000 after buying an additional 34,883 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 182.9% during the 1st 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 buying an additional 1,262,560 shares during the period. 69.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About CRISPR Therapeutics

CRISPR Therapeutics AG is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of gene-editing therapies based on the CRISPR/Cas9 platform. The company applies its proprietary technology to modify genes in human cells, aiming to create durable treatments for a range of serious diseases. Its research and development efforts focus on both ex vivo and in vivo applications, enabling targeted correction or disruption of disease-causing genes.

Among its lead programs is CTX001, an ex vivo edited cell therapy designed to treat sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia in collaboration with Vertex Pharmaceuticals.