CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 18,150,000 shares, a drop of 6.4% from the November 15th total of 19,390,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,430,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 12.7 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CRSP. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $53.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of CRISPR Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $84.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Chardan Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.93.

Insider Transactions at CRISPR Therapeutics

In other CRISPR Therapeutics news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 30,000 shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.62, for a total value of $1,668,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 196,540 shares in the company, valued at $10,931,554.80. This trade represents a 13.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel James R. Kasinger sold 1,089 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.28, for a total value of $50,398.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 62,597 shares in the company, valued at $2,896,989.16. This trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,382 shares of company stock worth $2,744,179 over the last quarter. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 95.5% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 565 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Denver PWM LLC bought a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ:CRSP traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $44.24. 1,557,584 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,508,897. The company has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.63 and a beta of 1.62. CRISPR Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $42.86 and a 12 month high of $91.10. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $51.17.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($1.01) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.42) by $0.41. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 118.13% and a negative return on equity of 12.15%. The company had revenue of $0.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.65 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.41) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that CRISPR Therapeutics will post -5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CRISPR Therapeutics Company Profile

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.