CRISPR Therapeutics' (CRSP) Buy Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Key Points

• Needham & Company LLC reiterated its "buy" rating for CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP), with a price target of $81.00, representing an 11.93% potential upside.
• CRISPR Therapeutics reported a negative EPS of ($1.29), exceeding analysts' estimates, while revenue was significantly below expectations at $0.89 million.
• A recent insider transaction saw Director Simeon George buy nearly 990,000 shares at an average price of $52.03 per share, increasing his ownership by 133.69%.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reiterated by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $81.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC's price target points to a potential upside of 11.93% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on CRSP. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $42.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $79.00 to $78.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $86.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $71.50.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ CRSP traded down $2.56 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $72.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 956,847 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,564,907. The stock has a market cap of $6.58 billion, a PE ratio of -13.33 and a beta of 1.84. CRISPR Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $30.04 and a fifty-two week high of $78.48. The company's 50-day moving average is $58.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.63.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The company reported ($1.29) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.18. The firm 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 firm's revenue was up 72.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($1.49) EPS. Equities analysts expect that CRISPR Therapeutics will post -5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at CRISPR Therapeutics

In other CRISPR Therapeutics news, Director Simeon George bought 989,812 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $52.03 per share, with a total value of $51,499,918.36. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,730,179 shares in the company, valued at $90,021,213.37. This trade represents a 133.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of CRISPR Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CRSP. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 8,146.2% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,288 shares of the company's stock valued at $146,000 after acquiring an additional 4,236 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 46.7% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 5,626 shares of the company's stock valued at $186,000 after acquiring an additional 1,792 shares in the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at approximately $866,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 39.1% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 29,341 shares of the company's stock valued at $998,000 after acquiring an additional 8,240 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 244.5% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 94,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,202,000 after acquiring an additional 66,789 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.20% of the company's stock.

CRISPR Therapeutics Company Profile

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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