CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Shares Down 1.8% After Insider Selling

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP)’s stock price was down 1.8% during trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $56.75 and last traded at $56.90. Approximately 296,744 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average daily volume of 1,831,639 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.96.

Specifically, General Counsel James R. Kasinger sold 1,913 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.67, for a total transaction of $152,408.71. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 57,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,570,747.57. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, General Counsel James R. Kasinger sold 2,801 shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.26, for a total value of $219,206.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 60,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,701,078.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel James R. Kasinger sold 1,913 shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.67, for a total transaction of $152,408.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 57,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,570,747.57. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 133,992 shares of company stock worth $9,157,835 in the last quarter. Insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on CRSP. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $57.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $61.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. TheStreet raised shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from a “d+” rating to a “c” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Chardan Capital raised their price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CRISPR Therapeutics currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.29.

CRISPR Therapeutics Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $63.34.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.95. The business had revenue of $201.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $148.72 million. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3253.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.41) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -6.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CRSP. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 80.7% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 545.5% in the third quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 710 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Bourgeon Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 1,000.0% in the fourth quarter. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC now owns 550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

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.