Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Cuts Stake in CRISPR Therapeutics AG $CRSP

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics AG by 1.3%, owning approximately 713,539 shares worth $24.28 million following the sale.
• Ark Investment Management LLC increased its stake by 13.3% during the same period, bringing their total ownership to 10,165,400 shares valued at $345.93 million.
• CRISPR Therapeutics reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $(1.29), beating estimates, though their revenue fell short of expectations at $0.89 million compared to a forecast of $6.44 million.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its position in CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 713,539 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,493 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.83% of CRISPR Therapeutics worth $24,282,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. NBC Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 156,300.0% in the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,564 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 1,563 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $71,000. 69.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on CRSP shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $42.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $81.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of CRISPR Therapeutics to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. 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 report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $86.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Friday, June 27th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, CRISPR Therapeutics has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $71.60.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CRSP traded up $0.75 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $54.88. 1,276,401 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,926,573. CRISPR Therapeutics AG has a 1 year low of $30.04 and a 1 year high of $71.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $55.23 and a 200 day moving average of $45.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.11 and a beta of 1.80.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 20.05% and a negative net margin of 1,229.43%.The business had revenue of $0.89 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.44 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($1.49) EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 72.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at CRISPR Therapeutics

In related news, Director Simeon George purchased 989,812 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $52.03 per share, for a total transaction of $51,499,918.36. Following the acquisition, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Naimish Patel sold 3,932 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.94, for a total value of $141,316.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 6,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $218,083.92. The trade was a 39.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

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.