CRISPR Therapeutics Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:CRSP)

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock investors bought 7,023 call options on the company. This is an increase of 85% compared to the typical volume of 3,806 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Naimish Patel sold 3,786 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.62, for a total value of $210,577.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 19,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,076,636.34. This represents a 16.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Corporate insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRSP. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 836.7% in the 4th 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. boosted its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 196.9% in the 4th 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, Strategic Advocates LLC bought a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock traded up $2.93 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $58.55. 1,631,651 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,822,734. CRISPR Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $44.12 and a 12 month high of $78.48. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.00. The company has a market capitalization of $5.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.44 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 17.96 and a current ratio of 17.97.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $1.46 million during the quarter. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 13,856.54% and a negative return on equity of 25.66%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that CRISPR Therapeutics will post -4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRSP has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $60.00 target price on CRISPR Therapeutics and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $110.00 price target (up from $105.00) on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Truist Financial upgraded shares of CRISPR Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.78.

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 β-thalassemia in collaboration with Vertex Pharmaceuticals.