CRISPR Therapeutics Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:CRSP)

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Investors purchased 13,128 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 59% compared to the typical daily volume of 8,282 call options.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 3.7% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 16,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $797,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 158.7% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,844 shares of the company’s stock worth $181,000 after purchasing an additional 2,358 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics during the third quarter worth approximately $70,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics during the third quarter worth approximately $1,825,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 15.9% during the third quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 40,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,906,000 after purchasing an additional 5,567 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CRSP. Barclays raised their price objective on CRISPR Therapeutics from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on CRISPR Therapeutics from $89.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $53.00 to $49.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $84.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CRISPR Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.40.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of CRSP opened at $52.29 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a PE ratio of -18.48 and a beta of 1.67. CRISPR Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $36.52 and a 1 year high of $91.10.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported ($0.44) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.15) by $0.71. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 12.15% and a negative net margin of 118.13%. Analysts predict that CRISPR Therapeutics 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.