CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Stock Price Up 1.2% Following Insider Buying Activity

Shares of CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) traded up 1.2% during mid-day trading on Friday following insider buying activity. The stock traded as high as $44.29 and last traded at $44.16. 534,286 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 2,315,428 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.62.

Specifically, Director John Greene bought 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $44.85 per share, with a total value of $313,950.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares in the company, valued at $313,950. This represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on CRSP. Evercore ISI raised shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $99.00 in a research report on Friday, February 14th. TD Cowen raised shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $35.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com raised shares of CRISPR Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $53.00 to $48.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CRISPR Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.40.

CRISPR Therapeutics Trading Up 0.7 %

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.95. The firm has a market cap of $3.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.05 and a beta of 1.67.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported ($0.44) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.15) by $0.71. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 981.54% and a negative return on equity of 18.46%. As a group, research analysts expect that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at $71,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 108.6% during the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 6,165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $238,000 after purchasing an additional 3,210 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 690,191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,166,000 after purchasing an additional 13,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP grew its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 101,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,999,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares in the last quarter. 69.20% of the stock is currently 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.