CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $49.72, but opened at $52.25. CRISPR Therapeutics shares last traded at $54.02, with a volume of 1,836,140 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CRSP shares. Truist Financial increased their price target on CRISPR Therapeutics from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $98.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI raised CRISPR Therapeutics from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $99.00 in a report on Friday. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $86.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CRISPR Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.40.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Up 5.2 %

The firm has a market cap of $4.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -18.48 and a beta of 1.67. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $41.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.98.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at CRISPR Therapeutics

In related 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 181,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,002,854. This trade represents a 7.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 4.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of CRISPR Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CRSP. Capital Market Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $461,000. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 2,047.4% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 60,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,382,000 after buying an additional 57,696 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK increased its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 8.1% in the third quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 300,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,122,000 after buying an additional 22,583 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 35,196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,992,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,611,000 after acquiring an additional 599,304 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

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.