CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Sees Strong Trading Volume Following Analyst Upgrade

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $30.00 to $32.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an underweight rating on the stock. Approximately 3,378,007 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 66% from the previous session’s volume of 2,039,215 shares.The stock last traded at $51.21 and had previously closed at $43.49.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Chardan Capital reduced their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $98.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen raised CRISPR Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $35.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays increased their price objective on CRISPR Therapeutics from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $53.00 to $48.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CRISPR Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at CRISPR Therapeutics

In other CRISPR Therapeutics news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 15,000 shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.10, for a total value of $826,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 181,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,002,854. The trade was a 7.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CRISPR Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP increased its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 100.0% in the fourth quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $70,000. 69.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CRISPR Therapeutics Trading Up 15.1 %

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.25. The stock has a market cap of $4.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.07 and a beta of 1.67.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported ($0.44) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.15) by $0.71. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 12.15% and a negative net margin of 118.13%. On average, equities analysts predict that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.