Principal Financial Group Inc. Takes Position in CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP)

Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 40,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,758,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 563.0% in the 1st quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 663 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 67.6% during the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 15,409 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,050,000 after acquiring an additional 6,216 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 32.8% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 5,303 shares of the company’s stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 1,310 shares in the last quarter. SFG Wealth Management LLC. acquired a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at about $203,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 17.5% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 56,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,840,000 after purchasing an additional 8,408 shares during the period. 69.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at CRISPR Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 19,582 shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.91, for a total value of $1,173,157.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 208,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,468,589.02. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 19,582 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.91, for a total transaction of $1,173,157.62. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 208,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,468,589.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Julianne Bruno sold 3,366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.09, for a total transaction of $188,798.94. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 6,745 shares in the company, valued at approximately $378,327.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of CRSP stock traded down $1.33 on Friday, hitting $52.57. The company had a trading volume of 525,505 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,626,844. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $56.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.26. The firm has a market cap of $4.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -19.82 and a beta of 1.70. CRISPR Therapeutics AG has a twelve month low of $37.55 and a twelve month high of $91.10.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported ($1.43) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.35) by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $0.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.53 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.67) EPS. The business’s revenue was down 99.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.51 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Friday, June 28th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on CRISPR Therapeutics from $46.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $86.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $102.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $75.71.

CRISPR Therapeutics Profile

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.