CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) was upgraded by StockNews.com to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $53.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays dropped their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $84.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Chardan Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CRISPR Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.94.

CRISPR Therapeutics Price Performance

CRISPR Therapeutics stock traded down $0.90 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $47.78. 1,506,195 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,499,692. CRISPR Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $43.42 and a fifty-two week high of $91.10. The stock has a market cap of $4.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.88 and a beta of 1.62. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.33.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($1.01) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.42) by $0.41. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 118.13% and a negative return on equity of 12.15%. The business had revenue of $0.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.65 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.41) EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that CRISPR Therapeutics will post -5.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at CRISPR Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.62, for a total value of $1,668,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 196,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,931,554.80. This represents a 13.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel James R. Kasinger sold 1,089 shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.28, for a total transaction of $50,398.92. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 62,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,896,989.16. This trade represents a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,382 shares of company stock valued at $2,744,179 over the last ninety days. 4.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 12.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 17.8% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 8,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $398,000 after buying an additional 1,258 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 11.3% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 2,955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 3.6% during the 3rd 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.