CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Reaches New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• CRISPR Therapeutics' stock reached a new 12-month high, trading at $78.48 during mid-day on Thursday, with a last recorded price of $76.78.
• Analysts have varying opinions on the stock, with ten giving a "Buy" rating, seven a "Hold," and two a "Sell," while the consensus price target is set at $71.50.
• In the latest quarterly earnings report, CRISPR reported a loss of $1.29 per share, exceeding the consensus estimate, but revenue came in significantly lower than expected at $0.89 million.

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $78.48 and last traded at $76.78, with a volume of 5861491 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.62.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $42.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Chardan Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday. Ten 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $71.50.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company's 50 day moving average price is $58.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.41. The company has a market cap of $6.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.02 and a beta of 1.84.

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 company 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 business's revenue was up 72.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($1.49) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at CRISPR Therapeutics

In other CRISPR Therapeutics news, Director Simeon George bought 989,812 shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $52.03 per share, for a total transaction of $51,499,918.36. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 1,730,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at $90,021,213.37. The trade was a 133.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 4.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CRSP. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 182.9% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,952,751 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,262,560 shares during the period. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd raised its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 76.9% in the second quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,764,532 shares of the company's stock valued at $134,467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,201,600 shares during the period. ARK Investment Management LLC raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 1,192,336 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 98.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,071,883 shares of the company's stock valued at $100,789,000 after purchasing an additional 1,025,979 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 35.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,270,596 shares of the company's stock valued at $159,082,000 after purchasing an additional 859,334 shares during the period. 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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