CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Trading Down 4% – Should You Sell?

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) shares traded down 4% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $37.62 and last traded at $37.74. 1,644,505 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 1% from the average session volume of 1,625,210 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.30.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $84.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays upped their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Chardan Capital cut their price target on CRISPR Therapeutics from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of CRISPR Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.11.

CRISPR Therapeutics Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.92. The company has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a PE ratio of -8.91 and a beta of 1.85.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported ($0.44) earnings per share (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%. Equities research analysts forecast that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.16 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John Greene bought 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $44.85 per share, with a total value of $313,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $313,950. The trade was a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 18,360 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 171,613 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,473,037.60. This trade represents a 9.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,381 shares of company stock valued at $1,608,243 in the last quarter. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of CRISPR Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 3.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,008,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,383,000 after acquiring an additional 35,196 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 17.8% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 8,317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $398,000 after buying an additional 1,258 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 12.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,097 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 125,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,913,000 after acquiring an additional 5,300 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.