CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Stock Price Up 7% - Should You Buy?

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 7% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $54.88 and last traded at $54.80. Approximately 1,397,696 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 41% from the average daily volume of 2,369,514 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.19.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRSP has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. HC Wainwright reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen raised CRISPR Therapeutics to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CRISPR Therapeutics presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $71.75.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $5.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.29 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a fifty day moving average of $41.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.91.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported ($1.58) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.27) by ($0.31). CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 1,023.64% and a negative return on equity of 20.08%. During the same period last year, the company posted ($1.43) EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 71.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at CRISPR Therapeutics

In related 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 sale, the insider 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 hyperlink. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SFE Investment Counsel lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 355 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,252 shares of the company's stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 372 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 393 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 394 shares during the period. Finally, Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 10,682 shares of the company's stock worth $420,000 after buying an additional 443 shares during the period. 69.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.