CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Shares Up 9% – Here’s Why

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) shot up 9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $55.69 and last traded at $56.7750. 258,932 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 1,826,694 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.08.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CRSP. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Truist Financial upgraded shares of CRISPR Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 price target (up from $105.00) on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.47.

CRISPR Therapeutics Trading Down 9.0%

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 company has a market capitalization of $5.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.33 and a beta of 1.74. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $52.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.14.

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. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 13,856.54% and a negative return on equity of 25.66%. The business had revenue of $1.46 million for the quarter. On average, research analysts expect that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -4.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at CRISPR Therapeutics

In other CRISPR Therapeutics news, insider Naimish Patel sold 3,786 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.62, for a total transaction of $210,577.32. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 19,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,076,636.34. This represents a 16.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 10,349 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.26, for a total transaction of $499,442.74. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 245,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,863,948.84. The trade was a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 46,535 shares of company stock worth $2,311,300. Company insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CRISPR Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norris Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at about $345,000. Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at about $94,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 15.8% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 40,274 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,916,000 after acquiring an additional 5,500 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 7,843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi bought a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at about $393,000. 69.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.