CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Trading 2.8% Higher on Analyst Upgrade

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP)’s stock price was up 2.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Citigroup raised their price target on the stock from $88.00 to $89.00. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the stock. CRISPR Therapeutics traded as high as $57.19 and last traded at $57.11. Approximately 273,490 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 1,825,960 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.56.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on CRSP. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on CRISPR Therapeutics from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on CRISPR Therapeutics from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from a “d+” rating to a “c” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel James R. Kasinger sold 1,913 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.67, for a total transaction of $152,408.71. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 57,371 shares in the company, valued at $4,570,747.57. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other CRISPR Therapeutics news, General Counsel James R. Kasinger sold 2,801 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.26, for a total value of $219,206.26. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 60,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,701,078.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel James R. Kasinger sold 1,913 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.67, for a total transaction of $152,408.71. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 57,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,570,747.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 133,992 shares of company stock worth $9,157,835 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 4.10% 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 CRSP. CWM LLC raised its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 80.7% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 582 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC grew its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 545.5% in the 3rd quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 710 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Bourgeon Capital Management LLC grew its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 1,000.0% during the fourth quarter. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

CRISPR Therapeutics Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.65 and a beta of 1.76. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $63.34.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.95. The company had revenue of $201.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $148.72 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($1.41) earnings per share. CRISPR Therapeutics’s revenue for the quarter was up 3253.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -6.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.