Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Lowers Stake in CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. trimmed its position in CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP - Free Report) by 26.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,066 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,036 shares during the quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.'s holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics were worth $1,329,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. NBC Securities Inc. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 1,563 shares during the period. Finally, GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth $71,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on CRSP. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on CRISPR Therapeutics from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on CRISPR Therapeutics from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $81.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CRISPR Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $71.60.

Insider Activity

In other CRISPR Therapeutics news, Director Simeon George acquired 989,812 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $52.03 per share, for a total transaction of $51,499,918.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Naimish Patel sold 3,932 shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were 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 $218,083.92. This represents a 39.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 4.30% of the company's stock.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock traded down $0.96 on Friday, hitting $55.00. 1,602,286 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,641,424. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $51.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.13 and a beta of 1.80. CRISPR Therapeutics AG has a 1-year low of $30.04 and a 1-year high of $71.13.

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 analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $0.89 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.44 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($1.49) earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 72.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.16 EPS for the current year.

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.