CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Trading Down 7.5% – Here’s What Happened

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) shares traded down 7.5% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $51.21 and last traded at $51.0430. 1,360,723 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 27% from the average session volume of 1,856,670 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.18.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CRSP. Citizens Jmp cut their price target on CRISPR Therapeutics from $86.00 to $80.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underweight” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. TD Cowen increased their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $110.00 target price (up from $105.00) on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CRISPR Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.53.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $52.68 and a 200-day moving average of $55.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.82 and a beta of 1.80.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The company reported ($1.37) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.15) by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $0.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.72 million. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 26.31% and a negative net margin of 16,569.77%.The business’s quarterly revenue was down 97.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($1.01) earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 10,349 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.26, for a total transaction of $499,442.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 245,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,863,948.84. This represents a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel James R. Kasinger sold 3,450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.26, for a total value of $166,497.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 91,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,403,242.40. The trade was a 3.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 51,828 shares of company stock valued at $2,578,097. Company insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 502 shares during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 196.9% in the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at $33,000. 69.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CRISPR Therapeutics Company Profile

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.