CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• CRISPR Therapeutics has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from 19 analysts, with 10 buys, one strong buy, seven holds and one sell. The average 12-month price target is $68.06, above the reported opening price of $59.81.
• Recent analyst views remain mixed: Goldman Sachs and Bernstein rated the stock neutral or market perform, while UBS set an $80 target; Weiss Ratings maintained a sell rating.
• Institutional investors own approximately 69.2% of CRSP, with several funds adding positions during the second quarter. The company reported a quarterly loss of $0.94 per share on $10.18 million in revenue and remains unprofitable.

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the nineteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have assigned a hold recommendation, ten have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $68.0556.

Several brokerages have issued reports on CRSP. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. UBS Group set a $80.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Friday, July 17th.

Insider Activity

In other CRISPR Therapeutics news, insider Naimish Patel sold 3,786 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.62, for a total value of $210,577.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 19,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,076,636.34. This represents a 16.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. 5.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of CRISPR Therapeutics

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CRSP. North Star Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at about $247,000. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics in the second quarter worth about $218,000. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics in the second quarter worth about $464,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 30.1% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 35,000 shares of the company's stock worth $1,909,000 after acquiring an additional 8,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 16.9% during the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,485 shares of the company's stock worth $1,663,000 after acquiring an additional 4,407 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.20% of the company's stock.

CRISPR Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CRSP opened at $59.81 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.28. CRISPR Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $44.12 and a fifty-two week high of $78.48. The company has a market capitalization of $5.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.57 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 17.85 and a current ratio of 17.85.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 30th. The company reported ($0.94) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $10.18 million during the quarter. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 24.39% and a negative net margin of 3,368.72%. Analysts expect that CRISPR Therapeutics will post -4.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CRISPR Therapeutics Company Profile

CRISPR Therapeutics AG is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of gene-editing therapies based on the CRISPR/Cas9 platform. The company applies its proprietary technology to modify genes in human cells, aiming to create durable treatments for a range of serious diseases. Its research and development efforts focus on both ex vivo and in vivo applications, enabling targeted correction or disruption of disease-causing genes.

Among its lead programs is CTX001, an ex vivo edited cell therapy designed to treat sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia in collaboration with Vertex Pharmaceuticals.

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