Hedges Asset Management LLC Sells 4,650 Shares of CRISPR Therapeutics AG $CRSP

Key Points

• Hedges Asset Management LLC has reduced its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics AG by 15.8%, now owning 24,700 shares worth approximately $1.2 million.
• Several hedge funds, including UBS AM and Millennium Management, have significantly increased their investments in CRISPR, highlighting a shift in institutional sentiment towards the stock.
• CRISPR Therapeutics reported a loss of ($1.29) EPS for its latest quarter, while its revenue fell short of expectations, amounting to only $0.89 million.

Hedges Asset Management LLC cut its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP - Free Report) by 15.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,700 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,650 shares during the quarter. Hedges Asset Management LLC's holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics were worth $1,201,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ARK Investment Management LLC grew its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 13.3% in the 1st quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 10,165,400 shares of the company's stock worth $345,929,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192,336 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 182.9% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,952,751 shares of the company's stock worth $66,452,000 after acquiring an additional 1,262,560 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 1.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,769,709 shares of the company's stock worth $60,223,000 after acquiring an additional 33,711 shares during the period. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd increased its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 5.9% during the first quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 1,562,932 shares of the company's stock valued at $53,187,000 after acquiring an additional 86,813 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 690,191 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,166,000 after acquiring an additional 13,865 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.20% of the company's stock.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of CRSP traded up $3.35 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $61.19. The stock had a trading volume of 4,619,759 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,713,418. The firm has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.27 and a beta of 1.81. CRISPR Therapeutics AG has a 12 month low of $30.04 and a 12 month high of $71.13. The business has a fifty day moving average of $56.99 and a 200 day moving average of $45.95.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The company reported ($1.29) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $0.89 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.44 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($1.49) EPS. CRISPR Therapeutics's revenue for the quarter was up 72.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on CRSP. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted 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, August 5th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $42.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their price objective on CRISPR Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $71.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CRISPR Therapeutics news, Director Simeon George purchased 989,812 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 purchase, the director directly owned 1,730,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at $90,021,213.37. This trade represents a 133.69% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

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.