CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Trading Up 2.3%

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP)’s share price rose 2.3% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $58.45 and last traded at $56.32. Approximately 579,291 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 1,761,138 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.07.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRSP has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on CRISPR Therapeutics from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. TheStreet raised shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from a “d+” rating to a “c” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Chardan Capital raised their price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Barclays raised their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $61.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.29.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a PE ratio of -28.52 and a beta of 1.80. The company’s fifty day moving average is $67.75 and its 200-day moving average is $64.17.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.95. The business had revenue of $201.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $148.72 million. CRISPR Therapeutics’s revenue was up 3253.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($1.41) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -6.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 19,582 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.91, for a total value of $1,173,157.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 208,122 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,468,589.02. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other CRISPR Therapeutics news, CFO Raju Prasad sold 3,524 shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.69, for a total value of $256,159.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,476 shares in the company, valued at $470,740.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 19,582 shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.91, for a total transaction of $1,173,157.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 208,122 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,468,589.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 83,992 shares of company stock worth $6,132,335. 4.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 40.8% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 148,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,305,000 after buying an additional 43,100 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 252.2% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 148,942 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,152,000 after buying an additional 106,652 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 86.1% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 166,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,352,000 after acquiring an additional 77,053 shares during the last quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC acquired a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth approximately $202,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 51.8% in the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 13,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $923,000 after buying an additional 4,625 shares during the last quarter. 69.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.