CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Trading Down 3% – Time to Sell?

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) shares were down 3% on Monday . The company traded as low as $42.78 and last traded at $44.17. Approximately 861,832 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 2,232,304 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.53.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRSP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $89.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $98.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $86.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.11.

CRISPR Therapeutics Trading Down 4.8 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.92 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $42.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.74.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported ($0.44) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.15) by $0.71. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 18.46% and a negative net margin of 981.54%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John Greene purchased 7,000 shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $44.85 per share, with a total value of $313,950.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at $313,950. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 18,360 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.20, for a total value of $1,013,472.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 171,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,473,037.60. The trade was a 9.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of CRISPR Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP increased its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

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.