Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Invests $632,000 in CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP)

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise has acquired a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics AG by purchasing 18,579 shares valued at approximately $632,000.
• Analyst reports show a mixed outlook for CRISPR Therapeutics, with a consensus price target of $71.31 and a majority of analysts issuing a "buy" rating, despite some reductions in target prices.
• CRISPR Therapeutics has reported a 71.6% year-over-year revenue increase, yet posted a loss of ($1.58) per share, missing consensus estimates.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 18,579 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $632,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CRSP. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 39.3% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 149,726 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,893,000 after buying an additional 42,232 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,735,998 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,329,000 after purchasing an additional 10,579 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $17,458,000. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,883,000. 69.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on CRSP shares. 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. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $56.00 to $42.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $79.00 to $78.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Chardan Capital restated a "buy" rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $70.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at CRISPR Therapeutics

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

CRISPR Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of CRSP traded up $3.50 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $59.59. The stock had a trading volume of 3,368,957 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,822,533. CRISPR Therapeutics AG has a 1-year low of $30.04 and a 1-year high of $71.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.15 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.18 and a beta of 1.80. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.54.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported ($1.58) EPS 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 in the prior year, the company posted ($1.43) EPS. CRISPR Therapeutics's revenue was up 71.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.