Privium Fund Management B.V. Lowers Stake in CRISPR Therapeutics AG $CRSP

Key Points

• Privium Fund Management B.V. reduced its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics AG by 25.6%, selling 15,397 shares and now holding approximately 44,700 shares valued at around $2.17 million.
• Other institutional investors, including ARK Investment Management and UBS Asset Management, have increased their stakes in CRISPR Therapeutics, reflecting strong interest in the company.
• Despite a quarterly loss, CRISPR Therapeutics experienced a 72.5% increase in revenue year-over-year, indicating potential growth despite ongoing challenges.

Privium Fund Management B.V. cut its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP - Free Report) by 25.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 44,700 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,397 shares during the period. CRISPR Therapeutics comprises approximately 0.5% of Privium Fund Management B.V.'s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Privium Fund Management B.V. owned about 0.05% of CRISPR Therapeutics worth $2,168,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ARK Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 13.3% during the first 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 last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 182.9% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,952,751 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,452,000 after buying an additional 1,262,560 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,769,709 shares of the company's stock worth $60,223,000 after buying an additional 33,711 shares during the last quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd boosted its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 5.9% in the first quarter. Orbis Allan Gray Ltd now owns 1,562,932 shares of the company's stock worth $53,187,000 after buying an additional 86,813 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 6,769.1% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 583,733 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,864,000 after acquiring an additional 575,235 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.20% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at CRISPR Therapeutics

In related news, General Counsel James R. Kasinger sold 1,076 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $66.60, for a total transaction of $71,661.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 83,402 shares in the company, valued at $5,554,573.20. This represents a 1.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 50,895 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.91, for a total value of $3,456,279.45. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 254,201 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,262,789.91. The trade was a 16.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,213 shares of company stock worth $3,810,458 over the last three months. Insiders own 4.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, September 18th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Chardan Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $82.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $75.00 price objective on CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Monday, October 13th. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and issued a $86.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $78.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $72.59.

CRISPR Therapeutics Trading Up 7.0%

CRSP stock opened at $73.97 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.62 and a beta of 1.84. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $60.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.52. CRISPR Therapeutics AG has a 12-month low of $30.04 and a 12-month high of $78.48.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) last posted 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. 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 analysts' expectations of $6.44 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($1.49) earnings per share. CRISPR Therapeutics's quarterly revenue was up 72.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict 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.

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