CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Shares Up 8% on Analyst Upgrade

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) shares shot up 8% during mid-day trading on Friday after Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on the stock from $80.00 to $82.00. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the stock. CRISPR Therapeutics traded as high as $52.78 and last traded at $52.85. 415,556 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 1,723,382 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.93.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on CRSP. Bank of America lowered their price target on CRISPR Therapeutics from $90.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Citizens Jmp decreased their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $86.00 to $80.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Chardan Capital lowered their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $82.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Wedbush decreased their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $13.00 to $9.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.23, for a total value of $3,613,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 134,201 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,082,926.23. This represents a 30.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 71.4% in the third quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Strategic Advocates LLC bought a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC increased its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 836.7% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 562 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 502 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

CRISPR Therapeutics Trading Up 8.7%

The firm has a market cap of $5.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.52 and a beta of 1.72. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.44.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported ($1.37) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.15) by ($0.22). CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 21.23% and a negative net margin of 1,273.70%.The business had revenue of $0.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.72 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($1.01) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 97.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CRISPR Therapeutics Company Profile

CRISPR Therapeutics AG is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of gene-editing therapies based on the CRISPR/Cas9 platform. The company applies its proprietary technology to modify genes in human cells, aiming to create durable treatments for a range of serious diseases. Its research and development efforts focus on both ex vivo and in vivo applications, enabling targeted correction or disruption of disease-causing genes.

Among its lead programs is CTX001, an ex vivo edited cell therapy designed to treat sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia in collaboration with Vertex Pharmaceuticals.