CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Barclays Analyst Says

Key Points

• Barclays has increased its price target for CRISPR Therapeutics from $42.00 to $56.00, suggesting a potential upside of 1.24% from the current stock price.
• CRISPR Therapeutics reported ($1.29) earnings per share, beating the consensus estimate, but revenue fell significantly short of expectations at $0.89 million compared to $6.44 million.
• Insider trading activity included Director Simeon George purchasing nearly 990,000 shares, indicating a strong belief in the company's future prospects.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by investment analysts at Barclays from $42.00 to $56.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Barclays's price target would suggest a potential upside of 1.24% from the stock's current price.

CRSP has been the topic of several other reports. Wall Street Zen raised CRISPR Therapeutics to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $86.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Friday, June 27th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Friday, June 27th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $81.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on CRISPR Therapeutics from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $70.60.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Down 0.5%

NASDAQ:CRSP traded down $0.28 on Wednesday, reaching $55.31. 719,960 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,585,070. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.63. The firm has a market cap of $4.78 billion, a PE ratio of -10.17 and a beta of 1.80. CRISPR Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $30.04 and a 12 month high of $71.13.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 19.55% and a negative net margin of 1,229.43%. The firm had revenue of $0.89 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.44 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.49) earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 72.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that CRISPR Therapeutics will post -5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 24.6% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 916 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 22,066 shares of the company's stock worth $1,073,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. SFE Investment Counsel lifted its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. SFE Investment Counsel now owns 6,507 shares of the company's stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,309 shares of the company's stock worth $351,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. lifted its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 22.0% during the 1st quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 2,186 shares of the company's stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 394 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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