Bayforest Capital Ltd Purchases New Position in CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP)

Key Points

• Bayforest Capital Ltd has acquired 12,424 shares of CRISPR Therapeutics AG, valued at approximately $423,000, indicating institutional interest in the company.
• Analysts have set various price targets for CRISPR Therapeutics, with Needham & Company LLC maintaining a "buy" rating and a target price of $81.00.
• CRISPR Therapeutics reported a loss of ($1.58) EPS for the last quarter, missing analyst estimates, although revenue increased by 71.6% year-over-year.

Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 12,424 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $423,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. ARK Investment Management LLC boosted its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 10,165,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $345,929,000 after acquiring an additional 1,192,336 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,743,523 shares of the company's stock valued at $344,145,000 after acquiring an additional 816,789 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 39.2% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,811,708 shares of the company's stock valued at $150,029,000 after acquiring an additional 1,074,238 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 10,579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baker BROS. Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 464,936 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.20% of the company's stock.

CRISPR Therapeutics Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ CRSP traded down $0.17 during trading on Friday, reaching $56.09. 2,987,539 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,672,919. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $49.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.36. The stock has a market cap of $4.84 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.41 and a beta of 1.80. CRISPR Therapeutics AG has a 12-month low of $30.04 and a 12-month high of $71.13.

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 analysts' consensus estimates 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%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 71.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($1.43) EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.16 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at CRISPR Therapeutics

In related news, Director Simeon George acquired 989,812 shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $52.03 per share, for a total transaction of $51,499,918.36. Following the purchase, the director owned 1,730,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $90,021,213.37. This represents a 133.69% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $141,316.08. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 4.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on CRSP shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $81.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $86.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, June 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on CRISPR Therapeutics from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen raised CRISPR Therapeutics to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, CRISPR Therapeutics has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $71.31.

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.