Capital International Investors Acquires 55,511 Shares of CRISPR Therapeutics AG $CRSP

Key Points

• Capital International Investors increased its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 1.0%, buying an additional 55,511 shares to hold 5,649,258 shares (about 5.93% of the company), valued at roughly $366.13 million at quarter end.
• CRISPR announced a proposed offering of convertible senior notes ( $350M plus a $52.5M option), and combined with a quarterly revenue and EPS miss this week the stock plunged about 10.2% on heavy volume.
• Insiders have sold 99,079 shares (~$5.64M) in the past three months including CEO sales, while institutional ownership is high (~69.2%) with several funds (Orbis, Geode, SR One, State Street) materially increasing positions.

Capital International Investors lifted its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,649,258 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 55,511 shares during the period. Capital International Investors owned 5.93% of CRISPR Therapeutics worth $366,128,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd increased its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 76.9% during the 2nd quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,764,532 shares of the company's stock worth $134,467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,201,600 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 98.1% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,071,883 shares of the company's stock worth $100,789,000 after buying an additional 1,025,979 shares during the period. SR One Capital Management LP lifted its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 94.4% in the third quarter. SR One Capital Management LP now owns 2,038,763 shares of the company's stock valued at $132,132,000 after buying an additional 989,812 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 35.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,270,596 shares of the company's stock valued at $159,082,000 after buying an additional 859,334 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $19,772,000. 69.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRSP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Chardan Capital upped their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $74.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on CRISPR Therapeutics from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, CRISPR Therapeutics has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $64.24.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 6,967 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.58, for a total transaction of $366,324.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 226,106 shares in the company, valued at $11,888,653.48. This represents a 2.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel James R. Kasinger sold 2,112 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.58, for a total value of $111,048.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 85,115 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,475,346.70. The trade was a 2.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 99,079 shares of company stock worth $5,643,674 over the last three months. Insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting CRISPR Therapeutics

Here are the key news stories impacting CRISPR Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The debt raise could extend runway for CRISPR’s pipeline and may be value-accretive long-term if it funds high-return programs; some analysts/commentary view the financing as strategically sensible despite short-term pain. This Is Why CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Is Tumbling on Tuesday
• Positive Sentiment: Some hedge-fund/retail write-ups highlight CRISPR as an attractive biotech exposure — increased interest from active investors can support upside if clinical milestones progress. Here is Why CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP) Appears so Good
• Neutral Sentiment: There is circulating short-interest data flagged as a “large increase,” but the reported figures appear to be erroneous/zero (NaN/0 shares). Short-interest reporting here is unreliable, so don’t treat it as a confirmed driver.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/deal speculation: pieces are discussing potential strategic outcomes (including takeover talk), but these remain speculative and not confirmed catalysts. Is A Vertex Buyout Of Crispr Therapeutics Inevitable? Here's My Take
• Negative Sentiment: CRISPR announced a proposed private offering of convertible senior notes due 2031 for $350M (plus an option for $52.5M). Convertibles raise immediate funding but create dilution/conversion risk and can pressure the stock on the announcement. CRISPR Therapeutics Announces Proposed Convertible Senior Notes Offering
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction: multiple outlets report shares dropped after the convertible-notes announcement; trading volume is elevated, indicating aggressive selling/positioning. CRISPR Therapeutics shares drop after announcing convertible notes sale
• Negative Sentiment: Broader fundamentals: recent quarterly results missed revenue and EPS expectations and the company shows deep losses — analysts remain cautious (e.g., Morgan Stanley’s underweight stance), which amplifies negative reaction to dilution/financing news.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Down 10.2%

NASDAQ CRSP opened at $52.80 on Wednesday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $54.32 and its 200-day moving average is $57.39. The company has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a PE ratio of -8.10 and a beta of 1.72. CRISPR Therapeutics AG has a 12-month low of $30.04 and a 12-month high of $78.48.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported ($1.37) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.15) by ($0.22). The business had revenue of $0.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.72 million. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 26.31% and a negative net margin of 16,569.77%.The business's revenue for the quarter was down 97.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($1.01) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.16 EPS for the current year.

About CRISPR Therapeutics

CRISPR Therapeutics AG is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of gene-editing therapies based on the CRISPR/Cas9 platform. The company applies its proprietary technology to modify genes in human cells, aiming to create durable treatments for a range of serious diseases. Its research and development efforts focus on both ex vivo and in vivo applications, enabling targeted correction or disruption of disease-causing genes.

Among its lead programs is CTX001, an ex vivo edited cell therapy designed to treat sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia in collaboration with Vertex Pharmaceuticals.

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