CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) saw an uptick in trading volume on Friday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $30.00 to $32.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an underweight rating on the stock. 3,378,007 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 66% from the previous session’s volume of 2,039,215 shares.The stock last traded at $51.21 and had previously closed at $43.49.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on CRSP. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Chardan Capital decreased their price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target 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. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $60.00 to $99.00 in a research note on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at CRISPR Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.10, for a total transaction of $826,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 at this link. Insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. ARK Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 8,973,064 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,180,000 after purchasing an additional 1,474,439 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,743,523 shares of the company’s stock worth $344,145,000 after purchasing an additional 816,789 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 39.2% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,811,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,029,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074,238 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 25.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,992,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $140,611,000 after purchasing an additional 599,304 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 1.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,376,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,632,000 after purchasing an additional 23,075 shares during the last quarter. 69.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Up 14.3 %

The company’s 50-day moving average is $41.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.17. The company has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -17.57 and a beta of 1.67.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported ($0.44) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.15) by $0.71. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 118.13% and a negative return on equity of 12.15%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.08 EPS for the current year.

CRISPR Therapeutics Company Profile

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.