CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Shares Up 0.9% – Should You Buy?

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) shares shot up 0.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $44.27 and last traded at $43.72. 352,232 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 2,230,294 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.31.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CRSP. Citigroup lowered their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $89.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered 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, February 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Chardan Capital lowered their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on CRISPR Therapeutics from $53.00 to $49.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.11.

CRISPR Therapeutics Trading Up 5.1 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $42.79 and a 200 day moving average of $45.77. The company has a market cap of $3.91 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.42 and a beta of 1.77.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported ($0.44) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.15) by $0.71. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 18.46% and a negative net margin of 981.54%. On average, equities analysts predict that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.16 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John Greene purchased 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $44.85 per share, for a total transaction of $313,950.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $313,950. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 18,360 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.20, for a total value of $1,013,472.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 171,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,473,037.60. The trade was a 9.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CRISPR Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Boston Family Office LLC raised its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 2.2% in the third quarter. Boston Family Office LLC now owns 9,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $459,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC increased its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 0.8% in the third quarter. Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC now owns 26,357 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,238,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 1.9% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 12,477 shares of the company’s stock worth $586,000 after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the period. Intellectus Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 7,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $281,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Farrow Financial Inc. boosted its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Farrow Financial Inc. now owns 20,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $777,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. 69.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About CRISPR Therapeutics

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.