CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 18,150,000 shares, a decline of 6.4% from the November 15th total of 19,390,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,430,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 12.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRSP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com upgraded CRISPR Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $53.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays reduced their price objective on CRISPR Therapeutics from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Chardan Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. 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, CRISPR Therapeutics currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.93.

CRISPR Therapeutics Trading Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ:CRSP traded up $0.46 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $44.24. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,557,584 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,508,897. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $48.79 and a 200-day moving average of $51.17. The company has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.63 and a beta of 1.62. CRISPR Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $42.86 and a fifty-two week high of $91.10.

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

Insider Activity at CRISPR Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was 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 directly owns 196,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,931,554.80. This trade represents a 13.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel James R. Kasinger sold 1,089 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.28, for a total value of $50,398.92. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 62,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,896,989.16. The trade was a 1.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 50,382 shares of company stock valued at $2,744,179. Insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CRSP. State Street Corp increased its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,992,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,611,000 after purchasing an additional 599,304 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 1.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,376,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,632,000 after purchasing an additional 23,075 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 3.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,008,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,383,000 after buying an additional 35,196 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 2.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 950,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,326,000 after buying an additional 19,094 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baker BROS. Advisors LP lifted its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 743.1% during the 3rd quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 843,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,608,000 after buying an additional 743,075 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

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.