Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP)

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Traders acquired 19,856 call options on the company. This is an increase of 168% compared to the typical daily volume of 7,405 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Naimish Patel sold 3,932 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.94, for a total value of $141,316.08. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at $218,083.92. This represents a 39.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of CRISPR Therapeutics

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 5,269.3% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 83,010 shares of the company's stock worth $3,267,000 after acquiring an additional 81,464 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 68,739 shares of the company's stock worth $2,706,000 after acquiring an additional 2,971 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 2,117.4% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 15,078 shares of the company's stock worth $593,000 after acquiring an additional 14,398 shares during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 10.8% in the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 44,692 shares of the company's stock worth $1,759,000 after acquiring an additional 4,351 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 85,036 shares of the company's stock worth $3,347,000 after acquiring an additional 13,289 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.20% of the company's stock.

CRISPR Therapeutics Trading Up 3.8%

Shares of CRSP traded up $1.63 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $44.82. 4,645,489 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,775,763. CRISPR Therapeutics has a 1 year low of $30.04 and a 1 year high of $63.68. The firm's fifty day moving average is $38.12 and its 200-day moving average is $40.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.80 and a beta of 1.75.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($1.43) EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 71.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that CRISPR Therapeutics will post -5.16 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on CRSP shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of CRISPR Therapeutics to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $89.00 to $82.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $69.53.

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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