CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Earns “Buy” Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has a $84.00 price target on the stock.

CRSP has been the subject of several other reports. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $98.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Chardan Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $94.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $53.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. HC Wainwright assumed coverage on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Monday, February 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of CRISPR Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, December 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.11.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Up 9.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CRSP opened at $43.30 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.25. CRISPR Therapeutics has a fifty-two week low of $36.52 and a fifty-two week high of $91.10.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported ($0.44) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.15) by $0.71. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 118.13% and a negative return on equity of 12.15%. Equities research analysts expect that CRISPR Therapeutics will post -5.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at CRISPR Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.10, for a total value of $826,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 181,540 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,002,854. This trade represents a 7.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CRISPR Therapeutics

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. ARK Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 8,973,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,180,000 after buying an additional 1,474,439 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 25.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,992,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $140,611,000 after buying an additional 599,304 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 1.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,376,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,632,000 after buying an additional 23,075 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,735,998 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,329,000 after buying an additional 10,579 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in 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. 69.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.