CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Shares Up 1.2%

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP)’s share price rose 1.2% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $55.34 and last traded at $54.43. Approximately 258,312 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 1,766,410 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.81.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRSP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CRISPR Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.29.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $68.93 and a 200-day moving average of $64.15. The company has a market cap of $4.66 billion, a PE ratio of -27.77 and a beta of 1.80.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $1.10 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $148.72 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.41) EPS. CRISPR Therapeutics’s revenue was up 3253.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -6.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.36, for a total transaction of $1,607,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 187,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,057,615.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.36, for a total transaction of $1,607,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 187,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,057,615.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel James R. Kasinger sold 1,913 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.67, for a total value of $152,408.71. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 57,371 shares in the company, valued at $4,570,747.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 83,992 shares of company stock worth $6,132,335. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 43,100 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 106,652 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 86.1% during the first 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 period. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC acquired a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics during the first quarter worth about $202,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 51.8% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 13,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $923,000 after acquiring an additional 4,625 shares during the period. 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.