Bank of America Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Stock

Key Points

• Bank of America has raised its target price for CRISPR Therapeutics from $78.00 to $93.00, suggesting a potential upside of 35.91% from the current share price while maintaining a "buy" rating.
• CRISPR Therapeutics reported a quarterly earnings per share of ($1.29), outperforming estimates, but with revenues significantly below expectations, indicating ongoing challenges.
• Ten analysts currently rate CRISPR Therapeutics as a "Buy," while others have a "Hold" or "Sell" rating, highlighting a mixed sentiment among market observers.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by stock analysts at Bank of America from $78.00 to $93.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Bank of America's price target would indicate a potential upside of 35.91% from the company's current price.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on CRSP. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Chardan Capital restated a "buy" rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $81.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CRISPR Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $72.59.

CRISPR Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CRSP opened at $68.43 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.22 billion, a PE ratio of -12.60 and a beta of 1.84. CRISPR Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $30.04 and a 12 month high of $78.48. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.75.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The company reported ($1.29) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.18. The business had revenue of $0.89 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.44 million. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 1,229.43% and a negative return on equity of 20.05%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 72.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($1.49) earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that CRISPR Therapeutics will post -5.16 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other CRISPR Therapeutics news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 4,242 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.60, for a total transaction of $282,517.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 205,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,659,393.60. The trade was a 2.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel James R. Kasinger sold 1,076 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.60, for a total value of $71,661.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 83,402 shares in the company, valued at $5,554,573.20. This represents a 1.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 24.6% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 916 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 6,541 shares of the company's stock worth $318,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 6,973 shares of the company's stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. now owns 25,198 shares of the company's stock worth $1,633,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 1.1% in the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 22,066 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,073,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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