CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Hits New 1-Year Low – Should You Sell?

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) shares reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $30.04 and last traded at $30.33, with a volume of 327556 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.65.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on CRSP. StockNews.com raised shares of CRISPR Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $84.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI upgraded CRISPR Therapeutics from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $99.00 in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered 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. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $86.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.11.

CRISPR Therapeutics Trading Down 4.1 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.69 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.25 and a beta of 1.85. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.64.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last announced 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 return on equity of 18.46% and a negative net margin of 981.54%. As a group, analysts forecast that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 18,360 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.20, for a total transaction of $1,013,472.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 171,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,473,037.60. This trade represents a 9.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Julianne Bruno sold 1,198 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.42, for a total value of $50,819.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 8,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $350,516.46. This represents a 12.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 32,381 shares of company stock worth $1,608,243. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CRISPR Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CRSP. Capital Market Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 82.4% during the first quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC now owns 21,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $727,000 after acquiring an additional 9,652 shares in the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $71,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 108.6% in the fourth 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. 69.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.