CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Raised to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $60.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Truist Financial upgraded shares of CRISPR Therapeutics to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.78.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CRSP opened at $54.92 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.30 billion, a PE ratio of -8.83 and a beta of 1.74. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $52.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 17.97 and a quick ratio of 17.96. CRISPR Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $44.12 and a 12 month high of $78.48.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $1.46 million for the quarter. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 25.66% and a negative net margin of 13,856.54%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that CRISPR Therapeutics will post -4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Naimish Patel sold 3,786 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.62, for a total value of $210,577.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 19,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,076,636.34. This represents a 16.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Corporate insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CRISPR Therapeutics

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GSK plc acquired a new position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $168,890,000. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd lifted its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 76.9% in the second quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,764,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,201,600 shares during the period. SR One Capital Management LP lifted its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 94.4% in the third quarter. SR One Capital Management LP now owns 2,038,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,132,000 after purchasing an additional 989,812 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 35.6% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 10,522,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $551,777,000 after purchasing an additional 735,084 shares in the last quarter. 69.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CRISPR Therapeutics Company Profile

CRISPR Therapeutics AG is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of gene-editing therapies based on the CRISPR/Cas9 platform. The company applies its proprietary technology to modify genes in human cells, aiming to create durable treatments for a range of serious diseases. Its research and development efforts focus on both ex vivo and in vivo applications, enabling targeted correction or disruption of disease-causing genes.

Among its lead programs is CTX001, an ex vivo edited cell therapy designed to treat sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia in collaboration with Vertex Pharmaceuticals.