CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Stock Price Up 7.1% – Here’s Why

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) shares rose 7.1% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $38.81 and last traded at $38.91. Approximately 2,314,573 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 38% from the average daily volume of 1,672,794 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.31.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRSP has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI raised shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $99.00 in a report on Friday, February 14th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $86.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $84.00 to $81.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $56.00 to $42.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $53.00 to $48.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CRISPR Therapeutics has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.75.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.87 and a beta of 1.88. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $37.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.36.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported ($1.58) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.27) by ($0.31). CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 981.54% and a negative return on equity of 18.46%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 71.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($1.43) EPS. Analysts predict that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at CRISPR Therapeutics

In other CRISPR Therapeutics news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 18,360 shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were 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 directly owns 171,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,473,037.60. This trade represents a 9.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Julianne Bruno sold 1,198 shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.42, for a total transaction of $50,819.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $350,516.46. The trade was a 12.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,381 shares of company stock valued at $1,608,243. Corporate insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Western Pacific Wealth Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.