ARK Investment Management LLC Increases Stake in CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP)

ARK Investment Management LLC boosted its position in CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) by 19.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,536,104 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,372,986 shares during the quarter. CRISPR Therapeutics makes up approximately 3.2% of ARK Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. ARK Investment Management LLC owned about 0.11% of CRISPR Therapeutics worth $534,360,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Jump Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 194.7% during the third quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 33,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,512,000 after purchasing an additional 22,006 shares during the period. Baker Chad R purchased a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics in the third quarter worth $2,365,000. Capital Advisors Inc. OK lifted its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 7.4% in the third quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 231,925 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,527,000 after acquiring an additional 15,951 shares during the period. Credit Suisse AG lifted its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 8.8% in the second quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 921,656 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,742,000 after acquiring an additional 74,383 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 1.5% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 136,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,179,000 after acquiring an additional 2,061 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Friday, December 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on CRISPR Therapeutics from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on CRISPR Therapeutics from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Chardan Capital increased their price objective on CRISPR Therapeutics from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CRISPR Therapeutics presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $74.75.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ CRSP opened at $70.16 on Thursday. CRISPR Therapeutics AG has a one year low of $37.55 and a one year high of $91.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $73.75 and a 200 day moving average of $61.71. The company has a market capitalization of $5.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -35.80 and a beta of 1.79.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The company reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.95. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 8.09% and a negative net margin of 240.84%. The company had revenue of $201.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $148.72 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($1.41) EPS. CRISPR Therapeutics’s revenue for the quarter was up 3253.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -6.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 50,000 shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.51, for a total value of $3,025,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 187,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,338,182.27. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other CRISPR Therapeutics news, CFO Raju Prasad sold 3,524 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.69, for a total value of $256,159.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,476 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $470,740.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.51, for a total value of $3,025,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 187,377 shares in the company, valued at $11,338,182.27. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 134,410 shares of company stock worth $9,234,677. 4.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.