CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Receives Buy Rating from Needham & Company LLC

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $81.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 106.55% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $53.00 to $49.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target 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. Chardan Capital reduced their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $84.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Citigroup decreased their price target on CRISPR Therapeutics from $89.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CRISPR Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $71.75.

CRISPR Therapeutics Trading Up 1.4%

CRSP traded up $0.54 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $39.22. 531,163 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,674,858. The firm has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.98 and a beta of 1.88. CRISPR Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $30.04 and a 12-month high of $67.88. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $37.40 and a 200 day moving average of $42.24.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported ($1.58) earnings per share 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 71.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($1.43) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that CRISPR Therapeutics will post -5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at CRISPR Therapeutics

In other news, COO Julianne Bruno sold 1,198 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.42, for a total transaction of $50,819.16. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $350,516.46. The trade was a 12.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 18,360 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.20, for a total transaction 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 approximately $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. Insiders sold a total of 32,381 shares of company stock worth $1,608,243 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRSP. ARK Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 8,973,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,180,000 after buying an additional 1,474,439 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 182.9% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,952,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,452,000 after buying an additional 1,262,560 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 39.2% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,811,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,029,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074,238 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,743,523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $344,145,000 after buying an additional 816,789 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 6,769.1% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 583,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,864,000 after purchasing an additional 575,235 shares in the last quarter. 69.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.