CRISPR Therapeutics’ (CRSP) “Market Outperform” Rating Reaffirmed at Citizens Jmp

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP)‘s stock had its “market outperform” rating reiterated by analysts at Citizens Jmp in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $80.00 target price on the stock. Citizens Jmp’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 33.16% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on CRSP. Morgan Stanley set a $60.00 price objective on CRISPR Therapeutics and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Monday, April 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on 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, Wall Street Zen lowered CRISPR Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CRISPR Therapeutics has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.78.

CRISPR Therapeutics Price Performance

CRISPR Therapeutics stock opened at $60.08 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $5.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.66 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 17.97 and a quick ratio of 17.96. CRISPR Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $44.12 and a 1 year high of $78.48. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $52.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.05.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 25.66% and a negative net margin of 13,856.54%.The company had revenue of $1.46 million for the quarter. On average, research analysts forecast that CRISPR Therapeutics will post -4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Naimish Patel sold 3,786 shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,076,636.34. This trade represents a 16.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CRISPR Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 28.2% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 142,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,856,000 after acquiring an additional 31,392 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at about $861,000. Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 34.3% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 136,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,645,000 after purchasing an additional 34,883 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. bought a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics in the second quarter worth about $237,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 138.4% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 66,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,242,000 after purchasing an additional 38,691 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

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.