CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Shares Gap Down - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• CRISPR Therapeutics shares gapped down from $59.59 to $54.30 before trading, closing at $56.52 with high trading volume of nearly 1 million shares.
• Despite the drop, Wall Street analysts remain largely positive, with price targets ranging from $47.00 to $105.00 and a consensus price target of $69.67.
• Insider trading activity included a significant sale by Naimish Patel, who sold nearly 4,000 shares, while director Simeon George purchased nearly 1 million shares, indicating mixed insider sentiment.

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) shares gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $59.59, but opened at $54.30. CRISPR Therapeutics shares last traded at $56.52, with a volume of 970,878 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on CRSP. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $86.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of CRISPR Therapeutics to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Two research 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $69.67.

CRISPR Therapeutics Trading Down 4.4%

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $50.09 and a 200 day moving average of $43.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.62 and a beta of 1.80.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The company reported ($1.29) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.18. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 20.08% and a negative net margin of 1,023.64%. The company had revenue of $0.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.44 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($1.49) EPS. CRISPR Therapeutics's quarterly revenue was up 72.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.16 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Trading of CRISPR Therapeutics

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. ARK Investment Management LLC raised its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 13.3% during 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 period. Capital International Investors increased its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,743,523 shares of the company's stock worth $344,145,000 after purchasing an additional 816,789 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 39.2% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,811,708 shares of the company's stock worth $150,029,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074,238 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 182.9% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,952,751 shares of the company's stock worth $66,452,000 after purchasing an additional 1,262,560 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,769,709 shares of the company's stock worth $60,223,000 after purchasing an additional 33,711 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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