CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) Shares Bought by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,097 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics were worth $339,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 95.5% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 565 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Denver PWM LLC bought a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth $45,000. National Bank of Canada FI raised its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 35.0% during the second quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 848 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the third quarter worth $40,000. 69.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of CRSP opened at $39.36 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a PE ratio of -13.91 and a beta of 1.62. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $47.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.59. CRISPR Therapeutics AG has a twelve month low of $38.20 and a twelve month high of $91.10.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 30,000 shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.62, for a total value of $1,668,600.00. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel James R. Kasinger sold 1,089 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.28, for a total transaction of $50,398.92. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 62,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,896,989.16. This represents a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,382 shares of company stock valued at $2,744,179 over the last quarter. Insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CRSP. Chardan Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $94.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $84.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $86.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $53.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a 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 given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, CRISPR Therapeutics has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.93.

CRISPR Therapeutics 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.