Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd Invests $14.52 Million in CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP)

Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd bought a new position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 368,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,516,000. CRISPR Therapeutics accounts for 0.9% of Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $359,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 23,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $943,000 after buying an additional 3,736 shares during the last quarter. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC raised its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 115.3% during the fourth quarter. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC now owns 34,168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,345,000 after buying an additional 18,298 shares during the last quarter. Privium Fund Management B.V. raised its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Privium Fund Management B.V. now owns 34,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,377,000 after buying an additional 4,650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC now owns 10,682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $420,000 after buying an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at CRISPR Therapeutics

In other CRISPR Therapeutics news, General Counsel James R. Kasinger sold 2,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.42, for a total value of $120,897.00. Following the sale, the general counsel now owns 77,530 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,288,822.60. This represents a 3.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 18,360 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.20, for a total value of $1,013,472.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 171,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,473,037.60. This represents a 9.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 32,381 shares of company stock worth $1,608,243. Insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

CRISPR Therapeutics Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of CRSP opened at $41.94 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $43.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.60 and a beta of 1.76. CRISPR Therapeutics AG has a 12-month low of $36.52 and a 12-month high of $75.91.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The company reported ($0.44) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.15) by $0.71. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 981.54% and a negative return on equity of 18.46%. Analysts predict that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $86.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $89.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $35.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, CRISPR Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.11.

CRISPR Therapeutics 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.