CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Shares Up 7.5% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Shares jumped 7.5% on Monday, trading as high as $54.04 with about 815,457 shares changing hands—roughly 56% below the stock's average daily volume.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $64.53, though opinions range from sell ratings to lofty targets (Piper Sandler's $110).
• Fundamentals remain weak: the company reported ($1.37) EPS

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report)'s stock price traded up 7.5% on Monday . The company traded as high as $54.04 and last traded at $52.4220. 815,457 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 56% from the average session volume of 1,870,080 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.78.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRSP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $110.00 price target (up from $105.00) on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Citizens Jmp reduced their price objective on CRISPR Therapeutics from $86.00 to $80.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Monday, April 20th. Truist Financial raised CRISPR Therapeutics to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $74.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $64.53.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a PE ratio of -7.89 and a beta of 1.80. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $52.59 and a 200-day moving average of $55.30.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 13th. The company reported ($1.37) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.15) by ($0.22). CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 26.31% and a negative net margin of 16,569.77%.The company had revenue of $0.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.72 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($1.01) earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 97.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel James R. Kasinger sold 3,450 shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.26, for a total transaction of $166,497.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 91,240 shares in the company, valued at $4,403,242.40. The trade was a 3.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 10,349 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.26, for a total value of $499,442.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 245,834 shares in the company, valued at $11,863,948.84. This represents a 4.04% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 51,828 shares of company stock valued at $2,578,097 in the last three months. Insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 71.4% during the 3rd quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 504 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Strategic Advocates LLC acquired a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 69.20% of the company's stock.

About CRISPR Therapeutics

CRISPR Therapeutics AG is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of gene-editing therapies based on the CRISPR/Cas9 platform. The company applies its proprietary technology to modify genes in human cells, aiming to create durable treatments for a range of serious diseases. Its research and development efforts focus on both ex vivo and in vivo applications, enabling targeted correction or disruption of disease-causing genes.

Among its lead programs is CTX001, an ex vivo edited cell therapy designed to treat sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia in collaboration with Vertex Pharmaceuticals.

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