HighTower Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP)

HighTower Advisors LLC decreased its position in CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 38,316 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,349 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics were worth $1,791,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 13,640.8% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 32,703 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,536,000 after buying an additional 32,465 shares in the last quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP raised its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 743.1% during the third quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 843,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,608,000 after acquiring an additional 743,075 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 32.0% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 31,712 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,490,000 after purchasing an additional 7,688 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 1.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,376,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,632,000 after purchasing an additional 23,075 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 12,477 shares of the company’s stock worth $586,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

CRISPR Therapeutics Price Performance

CRISPR Therapeutics stock opened at $43.78 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.47 and a beta of 1.62. CRISPR Therapeutics AG has a 12 month low of $42.86 and a 12 month high of $91.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $48.79 and its 200-day moving average is $51.19.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($1.01) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.42) by $0.41. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 118.13% and a negative return on equity of 12.15%. The firm had revenue of $0.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.65 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($1.41) earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.13 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on CRSP. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com raised CRISPR Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays cut their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.93.

Insider Activity at CRISPR Therapeutics

In other news, General Counsel James R. Kasinger sold 1,089 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.28, for a total transaction of $50,398.92. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 62,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,896,989.16. The trade was a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.62, for a total transaction of $1,668,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 196,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,931,554.80. This trade represents a 13.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 50,382 shares of company stock worth $2,744,179. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.