CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the twenty-two research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $67.85.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on CRSP shares. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Bank of America reduced their price objective on CRISPR Therapeutics from $90.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wedbush dropped their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $13.00 to $9.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Citizens Jmp dropped their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $86.00 to $80.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday.

CRISPR Therapeutics Price Performance

CRISPR Therapeutics stock opened at $49.96 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.94 and a beta of 1.70. CRISPR Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $30.04 and a 12 month high of $78.48. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $55.08 and its 200-day moving average is $58.28.

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

Insider Transactions at CRISPR Therapeutics

In other CRISPR Therapeutics news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 60,000 shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.23, for a total value of $3,613,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 134,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,082,926.23. The trade was a 30.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 1.0% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,649,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $366,128,000 after purchasing an additional 55,511 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 35.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,270,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,082,000 after buying an additional 859,334 shares in the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd raised its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 76.9% in the second quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,764,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,467,000 after buying an additional 1,201,600 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,524,144 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,366,000 after buying an additional 180,580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,364,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $153,253,000 after acquiring an additional 66,556 shares during the last quarter. 69.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.