CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Given New $49.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) had its target price cut by investment analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $53.00 to $49.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “hold” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target would indicate a potential downside of 1.45% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on CRSP. Barclays raised their price objective on CRISPR Therapeutics from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on CRISPR Therapeutics from $53.00 to $48.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen upgraded CRISPR Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $35.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $84.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded CRISPR Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, December 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $74.50.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Performance

NASDAQ:CRSP opened at $49.72 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.17. The company has a market cap of $4.26 billion, a PE ratio of -17.57 and a beta of 1.67. CRISPR Therapeutics has a 52-week low of $36.52 and a 52-week high of $91.10.

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

Insider Activity

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 value of $826,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 181,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,002,854. This represents a 7.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CRSP. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at approximately $381,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 22.8% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 19,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $902,000 after purchasing an additional 3,563 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 3.7% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 16,957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $797,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd lifted its stake in CRISPR Therapeutics by 56.4% in the third quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd now owns 13,617 shares of the company’s stock valued at $640,000 after purchasing an additional 4,909 shares during the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics in the third quarter valued at approximately $258,000. 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.