CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Upgraded to Sell at StockNews.com

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Friday.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on CRSP. Chardan Capital reduced their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $66.00 to $57.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $53.00 to $48.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.11.

CRISPR Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock opened at $41.17 on Friday. CRISPR Therapeutics has a one year low of $36.52 and a one year high of $75.91. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $43.06 and its 200-day moving average is $45.41. The firm has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.42 and a beta of 1.76.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported ($0.44) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.15) by $0.71. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 18.46% and a negative net margin of 981.54%. On average, equities analysts expect that CRISPR Therapeutics will post -5.16 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 18,360 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.20, for a total value of $1,013,472.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 171,613 shares in the company, valued at $9,473,037.60. This represents a 9.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel James R. Kasinger sold 2,850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.42, for a total transaction of $120,897.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 77,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,288,822.60. The trade was a 3.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 32,381 shares of company stock worth $1,608,243. 4.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Boston Family Office LLC increased its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Family Office LLC now owns 9,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $459,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC grew its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 0.8% during the third quarter. Bedell Frazier Investment Counselling LLC now owns 26,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,238,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 1.9% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 12,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $586,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 7,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $281,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Farrow Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Farrow Financial Inc. now owns 20,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $777,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.