CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Stock Price Up 0.8% on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) rose 0.8% on Friday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $88.00 to $89.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. CRISPR Therapeutics traded as high as $57.50 and last traded at $56.59. Approximately 332,941 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 1,825,252 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.16.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on CRSP. Chardan Capital upped their price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on CRISPR Therapeutics from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Mizuho increased their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $82.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CRISPR Therapeutics has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel James R. Kasinger sold 1,913 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.67, for a total value of $152,408.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 57,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,570,747.57. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other CRISPR Therapeutics news, General Counsel James R. Kasinger sold 1,913 shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.67, for a total value of $152,408.71. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 57,371 shares in the company, valued at $4,570,747.57. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.36, for a total transaction of $1,607,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 187,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,057,615.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 133,992 shares of company stock worth $9,157,835. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRSP. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth $90,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 40.7% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 91,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,716,000 after acquiring an additional 26,358 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 10.0% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 9,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $598,000 after acquiring an additional 866 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. raised its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 79.2% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,278,774 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,038,000 after purchasing an additional 1,007,246 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 49.3% in the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 8,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $524,000 after purchasing an additional 2,760 shares in the last quarter. 69.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CRISPR Therapeutics Trading Down 0.4 %

The company has a market cap of $4.75 billion, a PE ratio of -28.87 and a beta of 1.76. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $73.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $63.34.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.95. The company had revenue of $201.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $148.72 million. CRISPR Therapeutics’s quarterly revenue was up 3253.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($1.41) earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -6.24 EPS for the current year.

About CRISPR Therapeutics

CRISPR Therapeutics is a gene-editing company focused on developing transformative gene-based medicines for serious diseases using its proprietary CRISPR/Cas9 platform. CRISPR/Cas9 is a revolutionary gene-editing technology that allows for precise, directed changes to genomic DNA. CRISPR Therapeutics has established a portfolio of therapeutic programs across a broad range of disease areas including hemoglobinopathies, oncology, regenerative medicine and rare diseases.