CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 18,150,000 shares, a drop of 6.4% from the November 15th total of 19,390,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,430,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 12.7 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CRISPR Therapeutics news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.62, for a total transaction of $1,668,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 196,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,931,554.80. This trade represents a 13.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel James R. Kasinger sold 1,089 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.28, for a total value of $50,398.92. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 62,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,896,989.16. This trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,382 shares of company stock worth $2,744,179 over the last three months. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of CRISPR Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,992,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,611,000 after acquiring an additional 599,304 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,376,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,632,000 after acquiring an additional 23,075 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,008,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,383,000 after acquiring an additional 35,196 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 950,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,326,000 after acquiring an additional 19,094 shares during the period. Finally, Baker BROS. Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 743.1% during the 3rd quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 843,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,608,000 after acquiring an additional 743,075 shares during the period. 69.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CRISPR Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ CRSP traded up $0.30 on Tuesday, reaching $44.54. The stock had a trading volume of 781,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,505,787. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $48.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.10. CRISPR Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $42.86 and a 1-year high of $91.10. The company has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.69 and a beta of 1.62.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($1.01) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.42) by $0.41. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 12.15% and a negative net margin of 118.13%. The firm had revenue of $0.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.65 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.41) EPS. Research analysts predict that CRISPR Therapeutics will post -5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays reduced their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Chardan Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded CRISPR Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.93.

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.