CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.25 EPS

Key Points

• CRISPR Therapeutics reported ($1.29) earnings per share, beating analyst expectations of ($1.54) by $0.25.
• The company's stock rose by $3.50 to reach $59.59 following the earnings announcement, with over 3 million shares traded.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for CRISPR Therapeutics, with target prices ranging from $42.00 to $105.00 and a consensus rating of "Hold."

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The company reported ($1.29) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.54) by $0.25, Zacks reports. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 20.08% and a negative net margin of 1,023.64%.

CRISPR Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of CRSP traded up $3.50 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $59.59. 3,354,236 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,584,639. The company has a market capitalization of $5.15 billion, a PE ratio of -13.18 and a beta of 1.80. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $49.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.41. CRISPR Therapeutics has a one year low of $30.04 and a one year high of $71.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at CRISPR Therapeutics

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

Institutional Trading of CRISPR Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the first quarter worth $861,000. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 34.3% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 136,483 shares of the company's stock worth $4,645,000 after buying an additional 34,883 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 28.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 142,696 shares of the company's stock worth $4,856,000 after buying an additional 31,392 shares during the last quarter. 69.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on CRSP. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $86.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Friday, June 27th. Wall Street Zen raised CRISPR Therapeutics to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on CRISPR Therapeutics from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on CRISPR Therapeutics from $56.00 to $42.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $70.07.

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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