CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by Wall Street Zen

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on CRSP. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Chardan Capital raised their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.78.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CRSP opened at $49.80 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.80 billion, a PE ratio of -8.01 and a beta of 1.74. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.09. CRISPR Therapeutics has a one year low of $40.00 and a one year high of $78.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 17.96 and a current ratio of 17.97.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported ($1.28) EPS for the quarter. The company 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that CRISPR Therapeutics will post -4.9 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at CRISPR Therapeutics

In related news, General Counsel James R. Kasinger sold 3,450 shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.26, for a total transaction of $166,497.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 91,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,403,242.40. This trade represents a 3.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Naimish Patel sold 3,786 shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.62, for a total transaction of $210,577.32. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 19,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,076,636.34. The trade was a 16.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 33,937 shares of company stock valued at $1,646,126 over the last ninety days. 4.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of CRISPR Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 6,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 6,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 71.4% in the 3rd quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 504 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 4.5% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 9,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $501,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

About CRISPR Therapeutics

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.