CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Trading Down 2% – Time to Sell?

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP)’s share price was down 2% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $49.31 and last traded at $49.44. Approximately 584,895 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 2,371,877 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.43.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CRSP. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on CRISPR Therapeutics from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $89.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $84.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Chardan Capital cut their price target 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.40.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $4.10 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.94 and a beta of 1.67. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $42.16 and a 200-day moving average of $46.07.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported ($0.44) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.15) by $0.71. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 981.54% and a negative return on equity of 18.46%. Equities research analysts expect that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at CRISPR Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.10, for a total value of $826,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 181,540 shares in the company, valued at $10,002,854. This represents a 7.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CRISPR Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $71,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 108.6% in the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 6,165 shares of the company’s stock worth $238,000 after purchasing an additional 3,210 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 690,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,166,000 after buying an additional 13,865 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP lifted its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 101,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,999,000 after buying an additional 1,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 18.1% in the fourth quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 53,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,090,000 after buying an additional 8,120 shares during the period. 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.