HC Wainwright Raises CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Price Target to $80.00

Key Points

• HC Wainwright increased the price target for CRISPR Therapeutics from $65.00 to $80.00, indicating a potential upside of 42% from the stock's previous close.
• Despite the raise by HC Wainwright, other analysts like Goldman Sachs lowered their target price for CRISPR Therapeutics to $47.00, showcasing mixed sentiment among investment firms.
• In its latest earnings report, CRISPR Therapeutics beat earnings per share estimates with a loss of ($1.29), yet the company reported significantly lower revenue than analysts anticipated.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by research analysts at HC Wainwright from $65.00 to $80.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the stock. HC Wainwright's target price points to a potential upside of 42.00% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. 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. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and issued a $86.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $71.60.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Up 1.3%

CRISPR Therapeutics stock opened at $56.34 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $50.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.72. The stock has a market cap of $4.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.38 and a beta of 1.80. CRISPR Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $30.04 and a 12 month high of $71.13.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 4th. The company reported ($1.29) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.47) by $0.18. The business had revenue of $0.89 million for 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%. CRISPR Therapeutics's quarterly revenue was up 72.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($1.49) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that CRISPR Therapeutics will post -5.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at CRISPR Therapeutics

In related news, insider Naimish Patel sold 3,932 shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.94, for a total value of $141,316.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 6,068 shares in the company, valued at $218,083.92. This trade represents a 39.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Simeon George bought 989,812 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were acquired 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 in the company, valued at approximately $90,021,213.37. This trade represents a 133.69% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 4.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of CRISPR Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the first quarter worth $25,000. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 69.20% of the company's stock.

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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