CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Trading Down 5.8% After Insider Selling

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) traded down 5.8% during mid-day trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $57.21 and last traded at $57.2870. 681,870 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 1,807,886 shares. The stock had previously closed at $60.81.

Specifically, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 30,000 shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.75, for a total value of $1,552,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 194,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,049,901.75. The trade was a 13.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.23, for a total transaction of $3,613,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 134,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,082,926.23. This trade represents a 30.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRSP has been the subject of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $52.00 to $44.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $75.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Monday, October 13th. Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $86.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Finally, Wedbush dropped their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $13.00 to $9.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.15.

CRISPR Therapeutics Trading Down 8.7%

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $54.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.29 billion, a PE ratio of -9.93 and a beta of 1.70.

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

Institutional Trading of CRISPR Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 71.4% during the 3rd quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 504 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Strategic Advocates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 196.9% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 576 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the period. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 333.3% during the third quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 650 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

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.