CRISPR Therapeutics AG $CRSP Holdings Cut by T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 0.4%, selling 13,605 shares during the 1st quarter, maintaining ownership of approximately 3.8 million shares valued at $129.25 million.
• CRISPR Therapeutics experienced a significant increase in insider trading activity, including Director Simeon George purchasing nearly 990,000 shares, increasing their stake by 133.69%.
• Several analysts have adjusted their price targets for CRISPR Therapeutics, with Barclays raising its target from $42 to $56 and Piper Sandler maintaining an "overweight" rating with a price objective of $105.

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP - Free Report) by 0.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,798,103 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,605 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned 4.40% of CRISPR Therapeutics worth $129,250,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 56,033 shares of the company's stock worth $2,205,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 33,790 shares of the company's stock worth $1,330,000 after purchasing an additional 2,010 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $3,231,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 28.0% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,420 shares of the company's stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 1,622 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 947,301 shares of the company's stock worth $37,283,000 after purchasing an additional 122,695 shares during the period. 69.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on CRSP. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Chardan Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $71.60.

Insider Activity at CRISPR Therapeutics

In related news, Director Simeon George acquired 989,812 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 1,730,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $90,021,213.37. The trade was a 133.69% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Naimish Patel sold 3,932 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 6,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at $218,083.92. This trade represents a 39.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 4.30% of the company's stock.

CRISPR Therapeutics Trading Down 0.3%

CRSP traded down $0.19 on Monday, hitting $54.13. 1,485,878 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,601,458. The firm has a market cap of $4.92 billion, a PE ratio of -9.97 and a beta of 1.80. CRISPR Therapeutics AG has a twelve month low of $30.04 and a twelve month high of $71.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $54.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.93.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The company reported ($1.29) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.18. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 1,229.43% and a negative return on equity of 20.05%. The firm had revenue of $0.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.44 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($1.49) earnings per share. CRISPR Therapeutics's quarterly revenue was up 72.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.16 EPS for the current 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.