CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell” Rating

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

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on CRSP. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $66.00 to $57.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. TD Cowen raised shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $35.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI raised CRISPR Therapeutics from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $60.00 to $99.00 in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CRISPR Therapeutics has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $73.11.

CRISPR Therapeutics Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ CRSP opened at $41.17 on Friday. CRISPR Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $36.52 and a 12-month high of $75.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $43.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.41. The company has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.42 and a beta of 1.76.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 981.54% and a negative return on equity of 18.46%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that CRISPR Therapeutics will post -5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 18,360 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 171,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,473,037.60. This trade represents a 9.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel James R. Kasinger sold 2,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.42, for a total transaction of $120,897.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 77,530 shares in the company, 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. Insiders have sold 32,381 shares of company stock valued at $1,608,243 over the last three months. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $71,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 108.6% during the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 6,165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $238,000 after acquiring an additional 3,210 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 2.1% in 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 valued at $27,166,000 after purchasing an additional 13,865 shares during the last quarter. 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.