CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $49.72, but opened at $52.25. CRISPR Therapeutics shares last traded at $54.02, with a volume of 1,836,140 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CRSP has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on CRISPR Therapeutics from $53.00 to $49.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $60.00 to $99.00 in a report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $84.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $74.40.

CRISPR Therapeutics Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $4.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.55 and a beta of 1.67. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $42.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.04.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported ($0.44) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.15) by $0.71. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 981.54% and a negative return on equity of 18.46%. As a group, analysts forecast that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at CRISPR Therapeutics

In other news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.10, for a total transaction of $826,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 181,540 shares in the company, valued at $10,002,854. This represents a 7.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP raised its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics during the third quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics during the third quarter worth approximately $70,000. 69.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.