CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nineteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation, ten have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $67.7778.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered CRISPR Therapeutics from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, July 5th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $76.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Monday, May 11th.

Insider Transactions at CRISPR Therapeutics

In other CRISPR Therapeutics news, insider Naimish Patel sold 3,786 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider owned 19,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,076,636.34. This trade represents a 16.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Corporate insiders own 5.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CRSP. UBS Group AG increased its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,524,144 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,366,000 after buying an additional 180,580 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,706,000. Leonteq Securities AG bought a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,155,000. Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,032,000. Finally, Canal Insurance CO purchased a new position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at about $1,670,000. 69.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of CRSP stock opened at $47.99 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 17.97, a quick ratio of 17.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. CRISPR Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $44.12 and a 12 month high of $78.48. The stock has a market cap of $4.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.72 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.42.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share for the quarter. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 25.66% and a negative net margin of 13,856.54%.The business had revenue of $1.46 million for the quarter. On average, research analysts expect that CRISPR Therapeutics will post -4.9 earnings per share for the current year.

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.