Stock Traders Buy High Volume of CRISPR Therapeutics Call Options (NASDAQ:CRSP)

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock investors bought 6,090 call options on the company. This is an increase of 66% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,675 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on CRSP shares. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup reiterated a “market outperform” rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 price objective (up from $105.00) on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, April 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.47.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Up 12.5%

CRSP traded up $6.54 during trading on Thursday, hitting $58.62. The stock had a trading volume of 1,365,442 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,837,382. The company has a market capitalization of $5.65 billion, a PE ratio of -9.39 and a beta of 1.74. CRISPR Therapeutics has a twelve month low of $37.02 and a twelve month high of $78.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 17.96 and a current ratio of 17.97. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.12.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share for the quarter. The firm 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%. On average, research analysts predict that CRISPR Therapeutics will post -4.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at CRISPR Therapeutics

In other news, General Counsel James R. Kasinger sold 3,450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.26, for a total transaction of $166,497.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 91,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,403,242.40. This trade represents a 3.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 10,349 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.26, for a total transaction of $499,442.74. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 245,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,863,948.84. This trade represents a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 46,535 shares of company stock valued at $2,311,300. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 836.7% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 562 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 502 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 196.9% during the fourth 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 period. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 71.4% during the third quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 504 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. 69.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.