CRISPR Therapeutics’ (CRSP) Buy Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC restated their buy rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $80.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on CRSP. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $78.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on CRISPR Therapeutics from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $77.00 price objective (down previously from $87.00) on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CRISPR Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $68.35.

CRISPR Therapeutics Price Performance

NASDAQ CRSP opened at $56.89 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $57.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.07. CRISPR Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $30.04 and a 1 year high of $78.48. The company has a market cap of $5.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.18 and a beta of 1.74.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The company reported ($1.17) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.32) by $0.15. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 21.23% and a negative net margin of 1,273.70%.The business had revenue of $0.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.74 million. Research analysts expect that CRISPR Therapeutics will post -5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel James R. Kasinger sold 1,076 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.60, for a total value of $71,661.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 83,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,554,573.20. This represents a 1.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 50,895 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.91, for a total value of $3,456,279.45. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 254,201 shares in the company, valued at $17,262,789.91. This represents a 16.68% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 56,213 shares of company stock valued at $3,810,458. 4.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 182.9% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,952,751 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,452,000 after acquiring an additional 1,262,560 shares in the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd grew its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 76.9% in the second quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,764,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,201,600 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 98.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,071,883 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,789,000 after purchasing an additional 1,025,979 shares in the last quarter. SR One Capital Management LP lifted its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 94.4% in the 3rd quarter. SR One Capital Management LP now owns 2,038,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,132,000 after buying an additional 989,812 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 35.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,270,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,082,000 after buying an additional 859,334 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

About CRISPR Therapeutics

CRISPR Therapeutics AG is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of gene-editing therapies based on the CRISPR/Cas9 platform. The company applies its proprietary technology to modify genes in human cells, aiming to create durable treatments for a range of serious diseases. Its research and development efforts focus on both ex vivo and in vivo applications, enabling targeted correction or disruption of disease-causing genes.

Among its lead programs is CTX001, an ex vivo edited cell therapy designed to treat sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent ?-thalassemia in collaboration with Vertex Pharmaceuticals.