Capital International Investors Increases Stock Position in CRISPR Therapeutics AG $CRSP

Key Points

• Capital International Investors increased its CRISPR Therapeutics stake by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 243,487 additional shares and bringing its holding to 5.89 million shares worth about $309 million.
• Other large institutional investors also raised positions, and overall hedge funds and institutions own 69.2% of the stock, highlighting continued interest from big investors.
• CRISPR Therapeutics reported a loss of $1.28 per share in its latest quarterly results, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $65.47.

Capital International Investors boosted its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP - Free Report) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,892,745 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 243,487 shares during the quarter. Capital International Investors owned about 6.18% of CRISPR Therapeutics worth $309,016,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 859,334 shares in the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd raised its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 76.9% in the second quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 2,764,532 shares of the company's stock valued at $134,467,000 after purchasing an additional 1,201,600 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,524,144 shares of the company's stock valued at $132,366,000 after purchasing an additional 180,580 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 2.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,364,645 shares of the company's stock valued at $153,253,000 after purchasing an additional 66,556 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,249,223 shares of the company's stock valued at $117,971,000 after acquiring an additional 108,053 shares during the last quarter. 69.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of CRSP opened at $51.84 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $5.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.33 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 17.96 and a current ratio of 17.97. CRISPR Therapeutics AG has a fifty-two week low of $39.58 and a fifty-two week high of $78.48. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $52.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.12.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported ($1.28) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 25.66% and a negative net margin of 13,856.54%.The firm had revenue of $1.46 million during the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -4.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at CRISPR Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 10,349 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.26, for a total value of $499,442.74. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 245,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,863,948.84. This trade represents a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Naimish Patel sold 3,786 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.62, for a total transaction of $210,577.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 19,357 shares in the company, valued at $1,076,636.34. This represents a 16.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 46,535 shares of company stock worth $2,311,300. Insiders own 4.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup restated a "market outperform" rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $33.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Monday, April 20th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CRISPR Therapeutics has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $65.47.

CRISPR Therapeutics Profile

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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