CRISPR Therapeutics Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:CRSP)

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 10,886 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 49% compared to the average daily volume of 7,308 call options.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Down 2.6%

CRSP traded down $1.54 during trading on Friday, hitting $57.46. 1,047,453 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,938,349. The firm has a market cap of $4.96 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.75 and a beta of 1.82. The stock's fifty day moving average is $42.15 and its 200 day moving average is $41.17. CRISPR Therapeutics has a one year low of $30.04 and a one year high of $63.68.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 20.08% and a negative net margin of 1,023.64%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($1.43) EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 71.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that CRISPR Therapeutics will post -5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. 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 restated a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Friday, June 27th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Friday, June 27th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $86.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Chardan Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $82.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $71.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at CRISPR Therapeutics

In other CRISPR Therapeutics news, insider Naimish Patel sold 3,932 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.94, for a total value of $141,316.08. Following the transaction, the insider directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 4.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRSP. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $359,000. Baker BROS. Advisors LP lifted its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 55.1% in the 4th quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 1,308,011 shares of the company's stock worth $51,483,000 after buying an additional 464,936 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,735,998 shares of the company's stock worth $68,329,000 after buying an additional 10,579 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 14.3% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 39,189 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,334,000 after purchasing an additional 4,914 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Green Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 132.9% in the 1st quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 57,361 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,952,000 after acquiring an additional 32,732 shares during the last quarter. 69.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.