CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Stock Price Up 9.5% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• CRISPR Therapeutics' stock price surged 9.5% to a last traded price of $77.36 amid a significant decrease in trading volume.
• The company has received a mix of ratings from analysts, including a new "overweight" rating from JPMorgan Chase with a $70.00 target price and a "sell" rating from Weiss Ratings.
• CRISPR Therapeutics reported a quarterly loss of ($1.29) EPS, which was better than analysts' estimates, and achieved a 72.5% year-over-year revenue growth despite lower revenues than expected.

Shares of CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) rose 9.5% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $76.40 and last traded at $77.36. Approximately 1,515,528 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 41% from the average daily volume of 2,550,210 shares. The stock had previously closed at $70.62.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRSP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday. Zacks Research upgraded CRISPR Therapeutics from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Barclays lifted their price target on CRISPR Therapeutics from $42.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $71.50.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Up 10.8%

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.21. The company has a market cap of $7.11 billion, a P/E ratio of -14.43 and a beta of 1.84.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The company reported ($1.29) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.18. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 20.05% and a negative net margin of 1,229.43%.The company had revenue of $0.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.44 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($1.49) earnings per share. CRISPR Therapeutics's revenue was up 72.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at CRISPR Therapeutics

In related news, Director Simeon George acquired 989,812 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $52.03 per share, with a total value 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. This represents a 133.69% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 4.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of CRISPR Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRSP. SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Strategic Wealth Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the second quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 272.4% during the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 1,337 shares of the company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 978 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.20% of the company's stock.

CRISPR Therapeutics Company Profile

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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