Millennium Management LLC Increases Stake in CRISPR Therapeutics AG $CRSP

Key Points

• Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics AG by 6,769.1% during the 1st quarter, acquiring an additional 575,235 shares, bringing its total ownership to about $19.86 million.
• Several hedge funds, including ARK Investment Management and Vanguard Group, have also boosted their positions in CRISPR Therapeutics, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• CRISPR Therapeutics reported a loss of ($1.29) EPS, surpassing expectations, but its revenue fell short of analyst estimates by a significant margin, totaling only $0.89 million for the quarter.

Millennium Management LLC increased its position in CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP - Free Report) by 6,769.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 583,733 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 575,235 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC owned approximately 0.68% of CRISPR Therapeutics worth $19,864,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of CRSP. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 272.4% during the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 1,337 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 978 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.20% of the company's stock.

CRISPR Therapeutics Trading Up 5.8%

CRISPR Therapeutics stock traded up $3.35 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $61.19. The stock had a trading volume of 4,619,759 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,546,739. The firm's fifty day moving average is $56.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.84. The company has a market capitalization of $5.57 billion, a PE ratio of -11.27 and a beta of 1.81. CRISPR Therapeutics AG has a 52-week low of $30.04 and a 52-week high of $71.13.

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

Insider Transactions at CRISPR Therapeutics

In related news, Director Simeon George acquired 989,812 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $52.03 per share, with a total value of $51,499,918.36. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 1,730,179 shares in the company, valued at $90,021,213.37. This represents a 133.69% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRSP has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $79.00 to $78.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note 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 research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $86.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, CRISPR Therapeutics has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $71.60.

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.