CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Trading Up 6% – Still a Buy?

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP)’s share price shot up 6% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $45.10 and last traded at $44.62. 866,303 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 60% from the average session volume of 2,163,673 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.09.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on CRSP shares. Evercore ISI raised shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $60.00 to $99.00 in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Wall Street Zen raised CRISPR Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. TD Cowen raised shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $35.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $86.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $71.75.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $36.99 and its 200 day moving average is $41.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.96 and a beta of 1.75.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported ($1.58) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.27) by ($0.31). CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 18.46% and a negative net margin of 981.54%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($1.43) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 71.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CRISPR Therapeutics news, insider Naimish Patel sold 3,932 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.94, for a total transaction of $141,316.08. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,068 shares in the company, valued at $218,083.92. This trade represents a 39.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CRISPR Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CRSP. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth about $423,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 182.9% in 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 valued at $66,452,000 after acquiring an additional 1,262,560 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP raised its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 34.3% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 136,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,645,000 after acquiring an additional 34,883 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 6,769.1% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 583,733 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,864,000 after purchasing an additional 575,235 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the first quarter worth $861,000. 69.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.