Insider Buying: CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) Director Buys 989,812 Shares of Stock

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) Director Simeon George bought 989,812 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 acquisition, 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

CRISPR Therapeutics Trading Down 0.1%

CRSP stock traded down $0.05 during trading on Thursday, hitting $55.09. The company had a trading volume of 2,174,033 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,961,389. The company has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.19 and a beta of 1.82. CRISPR Therapeutics AG has a fifty-two week low of $30.04 and a fifty-two week high of $62.00. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $44.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.68.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported ($1.58) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.27) by ($0.31). CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 1,023.64% and a negative return on equity of 20.08%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 71.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($1.43) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on CRSP shares. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $53.00 to $47.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market outperform" rating and set a $86.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Friday, June 27th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $56.00 to $42.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Chardan Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $82.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $71.75.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRSP. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 76,569 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,014,000 after acquiring an additional 1,553 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,231,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,346 shares of the company's stock valued at $171,000 after buying an additional 606 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 22,217 shares of the company's stock valued at $874,000 after buying an additional 645 shares during the period. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 34.2% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,834 shares of the company's stock worth $151,000 after buying an additional 977 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.20% of the company's stock.

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.

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