Rafferty Asset Management LLC Lowers Position in CRISPR Therapeutics AG $CRSP

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 11.9%, now holding 146,032 shares valued at approximately $4.97 million.
• Director Simeon George significantly increased his holdings by purchasing 989,812 shares, raising his position by 133.69% to a total of 1,730,179 shares.
• CRISPR Therapeutics reported a quarterly loss of ($1.29) earnings per share, beating analyst expectations, but its revenue of $0.89 million fell short of the forecasted $6.44 million.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP - Free Report) by 11.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 146,032 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,784 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned about 0.17% of CRISPR Therapeutics worth $4,969,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 75.2% in the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 6,873 shares of the company's stock valued at $234,000 after acquiring an additional 2,949 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 272.4% in the first quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 1,337 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 978 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 5.6% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 86,666 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,949,000 after acquiring an additional 4,571 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 49,248.8% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 84,880 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,888,000 after purchasing an additional 84,708 shares during the period. 69.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

CRISPR Therapeutics Price Performance

Shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock traded down $1.22 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $51.83. The company had a trading volume of 1,587,698 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,529,323. CRISPR Therapeutics AG has a one year low of $30.04 and a one year high of $71.13. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.36. The firm has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a PE ratio of -9.55 and a beta of 1.81.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 4th. The company reported ($1.29) EPS 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 firm had revenue of $0.89 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.44 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($1.49) earnings per share. The business'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 year.

Insider Activity at CRISPR Therapeutics

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 shares were bought at an average price 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. This represents a 133.69% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 4.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRSP has been the subject of several research reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $81.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen raised CRISPR Therapeutics to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Chardan Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. HC Wainwright increased their price objective on CRISPR Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on CRISPR Therapeutics from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, CRISPR Therapeutics currently has an average 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.