CRISPR Therapeutics Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:CRSP)

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) was the target of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors bought 13,128 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 59% compared to the average volume of 8,282 call options.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.10, for a total value of $826,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 181,540 shares in the company, valued at $10,002,854. The trade was a 7.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ARK Investment Management LLC raised its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 19.7% in the 4th quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 8,973,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,180,000 after acquiring an additional 1,474,439 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,743,523 shares of the company’s stock worth $344,145,000 after purchasing an additional 816,789 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 39.2% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,811,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,029,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074,238 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,992,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $140,611,000 after purchasing an additional 599,304 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,376,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,632,000 after purchasing an additional 23,075 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

CRISPR Therapeutics Trading Up 5.2 %

Shares of CRSP traded up $2.57 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $52.29. 6,020,362 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,335,658. CRISPR Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $36.52 and a 1 year high of $91.10. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $41.89 and its 200-day moving average is $45.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.48 and a beta of 1.67.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported ($0.44) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.15) by $0.71. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 12.15% and a negative net margin of 118.13%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that CRISPR Therapeutics will post -5.08 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRSP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $98.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup decreased their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $89.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial boosted their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded CRISPR Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.40.

CRISPR Therapeutics Company 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.