CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Stock Price Down 2.9% Following Insider Selling

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) shares were down 2.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $42.78 and last traded at $42.22. Approximately 282,558 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 2,214,576 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.49.

Specifically, COO Julianne Bruno sold 1,198 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.42, for a total transaction of $50,819.16. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $350,516.46. This trade represents a 12.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel James R. Kasinger sold 2,850 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 value of $120,897.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 77,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,288,822.60. This trade represents a 3.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In other news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 9,973 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.42, for a total transaction of $423,054.66. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 180,890 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,673,353.80. This trade represents a 5.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CRSP. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $66.00 to $57.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on CRISPR Therapeutics from $53.00 to $49.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on CRISPR Therapeutics from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Truist Financial raised their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $98.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.11.

CRISPR Therapeutics Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a PE ratio of -9.61 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $43.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.63.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported ($0.44) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CRSP. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP boosted its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 100.0% during the fourth quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

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.