CRISPR Therapeutics Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:CRSP)

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors bought 19,856 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 168% compared to the average daily volume of 7,405 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on CRSP. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $86.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded CRISPR Therapeutics to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Chardan Capital reduced their price target on CRISPR Therapeutics from $84.00 to $82.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $69.53.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Down 0.4%

NASDAQ:CRSP traded down $0.18 on Friday, hitting $44.25. The stock had a trading volume of 3,052,058 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,790,124. The stock has a market cap of $3.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.79 and a beta of 1.75. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $38.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.60. CRISPR Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $30.04 and a 52-week high of $63.68.

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

Insider Activity at CRISPR Therapeutics

In other CRISPR Therapeutics news, insider Naimish Patel sold 3,932 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 6,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $218,083.92. This represents a 39.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 4.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Intellectus Partners LLC boosted its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Intellectus Partners LLC now owns 7,131 shares of the company's stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Farrow Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Farrow Financial Inc. now owns 20,097 shares of the company's stock valued at $777,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. SFE Investment Counsel lifted its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. SFE Investment Counsel now owns 6,507 shares of the company's stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,252 shares of the company's stock valued at $215,000 after buying an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,309 shares of the company's stock valued at $351,000 after buying an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. 69.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.