Vanguard Group Inc. Buys 33,711 Shares of CRISPR Therapeutics AG $CRSP

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 1.9% in Q1, acquiring an additional 33,711 shares, bringing its total shares to approximately 1.77 million, valued at $60.2 million.
• CRISPR Therapeutics' stock rose 1.4% to $54.88, with a market capitalization of about $4.99 billion and a PE ratio of -10.11.
• Despite posting a negative EPS of ($1.29), CRISPR's revenue increased by 72.5% year-over-year, although it fell short of analysts' estimates of $6.44 million, reporting only $0.89 million.

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP - Free Report) by 1.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,769,709 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 33,711 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 2.05% of CRISPR Therapeutics worth $60,223,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. SFE Investment Counsel boosted its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. SFE Investment Counsel now owns 6,507 shares of the company's stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,309 shares of the company's stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. boosted its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 22.0% in the 1st quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. now owns 2,186 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 24,563 shares of the company's stock valued at $967,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on CRSP. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted 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 reduced 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CRISPR Therapeutics to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Zacks Research raised CRISPR Therapeutics from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on CRISPR Therapeutics from $42.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, CRISPR Therapeutics currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $71.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Simeon George acquired 989,812 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $52.03 per share, with a total value of $51,499,918.36. Following the acquisition, the director 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 4.30% of the company's stock.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CRSP traded down $1.24 on Friday, hitting $51.81. 392,227 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,565,476. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.54 and a beta of 1.80. CRISPR Therapeutics AG has a 52 week low of $30.04 and a 52 week high of $71.13. The company's 50-day moving average price is $55.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.25.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The company reported ($1.29) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.47) by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $0.89 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.44 million. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 20.05% and a negative net margin of 1,229.43%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 72.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business 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 year.

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.