Rafferty Asset Management LLC Lowers Holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP - Free Report) by 22.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 165,816 shares of the company's stock after selling 48,278 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned about 0.19% of CRISPR Therapeutics worth $6,527,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 21.5% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 79,967 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,143,000 after buying an additional 14,125 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth acquired a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $239,000. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 65.0% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 8,133 shares of the company's stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 3,205 shares in the last quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $680,000. Finally, Baker BROS. Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 55.1% during the 4th quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 1,308,011 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,483,000 after purchasing an additional 464,936 shares in the last quarter. 69.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel James R. Kasinger sold 2,850 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.42, for a total value of $120,897.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 77,530 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,288,822.60. This represents a 3.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John Greene bought 7,000 shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $44.85 per share, for a total transaction of $313,950.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 7,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $313,950. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,021 shares of company stock valued at $594,771 in the last ninety days. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

CRISPR Therapeutics Trading Down 2.2%

CRSP traded down $0.84 on Friday, hitting $36.70. 425,126 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,682,185. CRISPR Therapeutics AG has a fifty-two week low of $30.04 and a fifty-two week high of $67.88. The stock has a market cap of $3.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.40 and a beta of 1.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $37.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.10.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported ($1.58) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.27) by ($0.31). CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 18.46% and a negative net margin of 981.54%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($1.43) earnings per share. CRISPR Therapeutics's revenue for the quarter was up 71.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.16 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $60.00 to $99.00 in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $53.00 to $48.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. TD Cowen raised CRISPR Therapeutics from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $35.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on CRISPR Therapeutics from $89.00 to $82.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CRISPR Therapeutics has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $71.75.

CRISPR Therapeutics 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.