CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Given Buy Rating at Needham & Company LLC

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by equities researchers at Needham & Company LLC in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $84.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 112.01% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on CRSP. TD Cowen upgraded CRISPR Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $35.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday. HC Wainwright started coverage on CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Monday, February 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded CRISPR Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, December 30th. Barclays cut their price target on CRISPR Therapeutics from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $53.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.28.

CRISPR Therapeutics Trading Up 0.5 %

CRSP stock opened at $39.62 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $42.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.40. The firm has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a PE ratio of -14.00 and a beta of 1.67. CRISPR Therapeutics has a 1-year low of $36.52 and a 1-year high of $91.10.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported ($0.44) earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, analysts forecast that CRISPR Therapeutics will post -5.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 181,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,002,854. This represents a 7.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. ARK Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 8,973,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,180,000 after purchasing an additional 1,474,439 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 25.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,992,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,611,000 after purchasing an additional 599,304 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 1.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,376,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,632,000 after purchasing an additional 23,075 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,735,998 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,329,000 after buying an additional 10,579 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 3.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,008,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,383,000 after buying an additional 35,196 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

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.