CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Shares Down 2% on Insider Selling

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) shares traded down 2% during mid-day trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $49.31 and last traded at $49.44. 584,895 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average session volume of 2,371,877 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.43.

Specifically, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 18,360 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.20, for a total transaction of $1,013,472.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 171,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,473,037.60. This trade represents a 9.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CRSP. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $89.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on CRISPR Therapeutics from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com raised CRISPR Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $84.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $74.40.

CRISPR Therapeutics Trading Down 5.0 %

The company has a market capitalization of $4.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.96 and a beta of 1.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $42.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.04.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported ($0.44) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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%. On average, research analysts predict that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.16 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 108.6% in the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 6,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 3,210 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 2.1% in the fourth 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 during the period. Woodline Partners LP raised its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 101,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,999,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 53,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,090,000 after buying an additional 8,120 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.