CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $67.7778.

CRSP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered CRISPR Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on CRISPR Therapeutics from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $60.00 price objective on CRISPR Therapeutics and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock opened at $46.54 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $52.66 and its 200 day moving average is $52.72. CRISPR Therapeutics has a one year low of $44.12 and a one year high of $78.48. The firm has a market cap of $4.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.48 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 17.97 and a quick ratio of 17.96.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $1.46 million during the quarter. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 25.66% and a negative net margin of 13,856.54%. Equities research analysts anticipate that CRISPR Therapeutics will post -4.9 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at CRISPR Therapeutics

In other CRISPR Therapeutics news, insider Naimish Patel sold 3,786 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.62, for a total value of $210,577.32. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 19,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,076,636.34. This trade represents a 16.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Company insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. GSK plc purchased a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $168,890,000. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd increased its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 76.9% during the 2nd quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,764,532 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,467,000 after acquiring an additional 1,201,600 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 35.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,270,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,082,000 after purchasing an additional 859,334 shares in the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 10,522,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $551,777,000 after purchasing an additional 735,084 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $25,706,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.