CRISPR Therapeutics' (CRSP) "Buy" Rating Reiterated at Chardan Capital

Key Points

• Chardan Capital has reiterated a "buy" rating for CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP) with a price target of $82.00, suggesting a potential upside of 47.51% from its current price.
• CRISPR Therapeutics shares have seen notable activity, with the stock recently trading at $55.59 after a decline of 6.7%.
• Insider activity includes Director Simeon George purchasing 989,812 shares at an average price of $52.03 per share, representing a significant increase in his stake by 133.69%.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reiterated by equities researchers at Chardan Capital in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $82.00 price target on the stock. Chardan Capital's price target would suggest a potential upside of 47.51% from the company's current price.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on CRSP. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $86.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $79.00 to $78.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $81.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Friday, June 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $69.67.

CRISPR Therapeutics Trading Down 6.7%

Shares of CRSP traded down $4.00 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $55.59. The stock had a trading volume of 4,537,742 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,598,531. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $43.54. The firm has a market cap of $4.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.30 and a beta of 1.80. CRISPR Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $30.04 and a fifty-two week high of $71.13.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $6.44 million. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 1,023.64% and a negative return on equity of 20.08%. CRISPR Therapeutics's quarterly revenue was up 72.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($1.49) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that CRISPR Therapeutics will post -5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Simeon George purchased 989,812 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $52.03 per share, with a total value of $51,499,918.36. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 1,730,179 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,021,213.37. This represents a 133.69% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Naimish Patel sold 3,932 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.94, for a total transaction of $141,316.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 6,068 shares in the company, valued at $218,083.92. This trade represents a 39.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CRSP. ARK Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 13.3% in the first quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 10,165,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $345,929,000 after buying an additional 1,192,336 shares during the last quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP increased its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 55.1% during the 4th quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 1,308,011 shares of the company's stock worth $51,483,000 after purchasing an additional 464,936 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,735,998 shares of the company's stock worth $68,329,000 after acquiring an additional 10,579 shares during the last quarter. B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $416,000. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 14.3% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 39,189 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,334,000 after purchasing an additional 4,914 shares during the last quarter. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.