CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Shares Down 0.9% – Here’s What Happened

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP)’s stock price fell 0.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $42.80 and last traded at $43.04. 308,445 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 2,277,744 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.45.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on CRSP. Barclays increased their price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup lowered their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $89.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $84.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Chardan Capital reduced their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $66.00 to $57.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CRISPR Therapeutics has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.11.

CRISPR Therapeutics Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.91 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.42 and a beta of 1.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $42.68 and a 200 day moving average of $45.82.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported ($0.44) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.15) by $0.71. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 981.54% and a negative return on equity of 18.46%. Equities analysts forecast that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CRISPR Therapeutics news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 18,360 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 171,613 shares in the company, valued at $9,473,037.60. This trade represents a 9.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John Greene acquired 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $44.85 per share, for a total transaction of $313,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $313,950. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRSP. Privium Fund Management B.V. increased its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 11.0% during the third quarter. Privium Fund Management B.V. now owns 30,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,426,000 after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,271 shares of the company’s stock worth $483,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 40,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,895,000 after purchasing an additional 5,803 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth $298,000. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 7.8% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 34,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,603,000 after purchasing an additional 2,478 shares in 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.