CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• CRISPR Therapeutics AG has received an average recommendation of "Hold" from 17 research firms, with one sell rating, seven holds, and nine buy ratings, and a target price of $71.60.
• Despite recent upgrades and price target increases from Barclays and Needham & Company, the company reported a loss of $1.29 EPS for the last quarter against a projected $1.47 loss, with a significant revenue shortfall compared to estimates.
• Insider activity saw Director Simeon George purchase nearly 1 million shares at an average price of $52.03, increasing his stake significantly, while institutional investors own about 69.20% of the company.

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) has earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the seventeen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $71.60.

Several brokerages recently commented on CRSP. Barclays raised their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $42.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded CRISPR Therapeutics to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $81.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on CRISPR Therapeutics from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded CRISPR Therapeutics from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th.

CRISPR Therapeutics Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:CRSP opened at $52.98 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $56.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $45.48. The firm has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.76 and a beta of 1.81. CRISPR Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $30.04 and a 12-month high of $71.13.

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

Insider Activity at CRISPR Therapeutics

In other news, Director Simeon George bought 989,812 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was bought at an average price of $52.03 per share, for a total transaction of $51,499,918.36. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,730,179 shares in the company, valued at $90,021,213.37. The trade was a 133.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of CRISPR Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. 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.

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