Samarth Kulkarni Sells 60,000 Shares of CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Stock

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 134,201 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,082,926.23. The trade was a 30.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Samarth Kulkarni also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, January 20th, Samarth Kulkarni sold 30,000 shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.75, for a total value of $1,552,500.00.

CRISPR Therapeutics Trading Down 8.7%

Shares of CRSP stock opened at $55.52 on Friday. CRISPR Therapeutics AG has a 1-year low of $30.04 and a 1-year high of $78.48. The stock has a market cap of $5.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.93 and a beta of 1.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $54.94 and a 200-day moving average of $58.38.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The company reported ($1.17) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.32) by $0.15. The company had revenue of $0.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.74 million. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 21.23% and a negative net margin of 1,273.70%. Sell-side analysts forecast that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of CRISPR Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 28.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 142,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,856,000 after acquiring an additional 31,392 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth $861,000. Woodline Partners LP grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 34,883 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 60.2% in the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 13,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 5,210 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $903,000. 69.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Chardan Capital decreased their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $82.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 26th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $77.00 price objective (down from $87.00) on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $75.00 price objective on CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $90.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $68.15.

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.