Wedbush Has Lowered Expectations for CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Stock Price

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) had its target price lowered by investment analysts at Wedbush from $13.00 to $9.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Wedbush’s target price points to a potential downside of 84.18% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on CRSP. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $78.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $42.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.06.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CRSP opened at $56.91 on Wednesday. CRISPR Therapeutics has a one year low of $30.04 and a one year high of $78.48. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.88. The stock has a market cap of $5.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.50 and a beta of 1.89.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The company reported ($1.29) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.18. The business had revenue of $0.89 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.44 million. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 20.05% and a negative net margin of 1,229.43%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 72.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.49) EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that CRISPR Therapeutics will post -5.16 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CRSP. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 182.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,262,560 shares in the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd raised its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 76.9% in the 2nd quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,764,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,467,000 after buying an additional 1,201,600 shares during the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 10,165,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $345,929,000 after acquiring an additional 1,192,336 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 98.1% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,071,883 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,789,000 after acquiring an additional 1,025,979 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 35.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,270,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,082,000 after purchasing an additional 859,334 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

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.