CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nineteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation, ten have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $64.5294.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Chardan Capital raised their price target on CRISPR Therapeutics from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Monday, February 16th. TD Cowen increased their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Truist Financial upgraded shares of CRISPR Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $74.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 13th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 60,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 134,201 shares in the company, valued at $8,082,926.23. The trade was a 30.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Naimish Patel sold 3,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.26, for a total transaction of $152,019.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 13,143 shares in the company, valued at $634,281.18. This represents a 19.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 141,828 shares of company stock valued at $7,744,397 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 836.7% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 562 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 196.9% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 576 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $33,000. 69.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Down 3.8%

CRSP opened at $45.75 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.39 billion, a PE ratio of -7.02 and a beta of 1.72. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.83. CRISPR Therapeutics has a 52 week low of $30.04 and a 52 week high of $78.48.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The company reported ($1.37) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.15) by ($0.22). The firm had revenue of $0.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.72 million. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 26.31% and a negative net margin of 16,569.77%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 97.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($1.01) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CRISPR Therapeutics will post -5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

About CRISPR Therapeutics

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 ?-thalassemia in collaboration with Vertex Pharmaceuticals.