HighTower Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP)

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) by 17.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,708 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,608 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics were worth $1,248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 47,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,241,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,669 shares of the company’s stock valued at $454,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 724,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,025,000 after purchasing an additional 6,635 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 29.2% in the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 7,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 1,745 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Family Office LLC boosted its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 2.2% during the third quarter. Boston Family Office LLC now owns 9,763 shares of the company’s stock valued at $459,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at CRISPR Therapeutics

In other CRISPR Therapeutics news, COO Julianne Bruno sold 1,198 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.42, for a total transaction of $50,819.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,263 shares in the company, valued at $350,516.46. The trade was a 12.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 that occurred 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 transaction, the general counsel now owns 77,530 shares in the company, valued at $3,288,822.60. This trade represents a 3.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,381 shares of company stock worth $1,608,243 over the last three months. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRSP has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen upgraded shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on the stock in a research report 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. 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. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a “neutral” rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.11.

CRISPR Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock opened at $40.89 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.36 and a beta of 1.77. CRISPR Therapeutics AG has a 1 year low of $36.52 and a 1 year high of $73.09. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $43.21 and its 200 day moving average is $45.32.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported ($0.44) EPS 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 AG will post -5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.