CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Stock Price Down 9.1% – Here’s What Happened

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) fell 9.1% on Tuesday. The company traded as low as $45.48 and last traded at $45.4990. Approximately 2,120,953 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 23% from the average daily volume of 1,717,622 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.04.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CRSP. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on CRISPR Therapeutics from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. William Blair raised shares of CRISPR Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 23rd. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, October 15th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $52.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.93.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Down 6.5%

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $52.66. The firm has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.02 and a beta of 1.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 16.21 and a quick ratio of 16.21.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 2nd. The company reported ($1.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.06) by ($0.09). CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 25.59% and a negative net margin of 1,812.07%. The firm had revenue of $12.67 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.75 million. The firm’s revenue was up 1311.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -4.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at CRISPR Therapeutics

In related news, Director Ali Behbahani sold 13,679 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.09, for a total transaction of $780,934.11. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 16,637 shares in the company, valued at approximately $949,806.33. The trade was a 45.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel James Kasinger sold 1,040 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.26, for a total transaction of $51,230.40. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 95,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,721,915.82. This represents a 1.07% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 93,558 shares of company stock valued at $4,881,663 over the last ninety days. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRSP. Choreo LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 7,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 15.5% in the third quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,934 shares of the company’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 6.0% during the third quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,000 after buying an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 175.1% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 465 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 4.5% during the first quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 7,843 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,000 after buying an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. 69.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About CRISPR Therapeutics

CRISPR Therapeutics AG is a biotechnology company focused on developing gene-based medicines using CRISPR/Cas9, a gene-editing technology that can make targeted changes to DNA. Founded in 2013, the company is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, and maintains U.S. operations in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Its lead product, Casgevy (exa-cel), was developed with Vertex Pharmaceuticals for people with sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia. It was the first therapy based on CRISPR gene editing to receive regulatory approval.