CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 18,150,000 shares, a drop 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 days-to-cover ratio is presently 12.7 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CRSP has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised CRISPR Therapeutics to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays reduced their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. 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. Finally, Chardan Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $94.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued 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 $77.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 4,293 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.28, for a total value of $198,680.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 226,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,484,271.20. This trade represents a 1.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel James R. Kasinger sold 1,089 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 62,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,896,989.16. This represents a 1.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 50,382 shares of company stock valued at $2,744,179. 4.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CRSP. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 133.5% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 31,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,723,000 after buying an additional 18,239 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 2,932.7% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,486 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 1,437 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 10.0% during the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 38,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,076,000 after buying an additional 3,479 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 107.4% during the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 35,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,890,000 after buying an additional 18,125 shares during the period. Finally, Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 51.0% during the second quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 102,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,515,000 after buying an additional 34,500 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

CRISPR Therapeutics Trading Up 0.9 %

CRSP opened at $44.63 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.81 billion, a P/E ratio of -15.69 and a beta of 1.62. CRISPR Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $42.86 and a 12 month high of $91.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $48.77 and a 200 day moving average of $51.10.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $0.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.65 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($1.41) earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that CRISPR Therapeutics will post -5.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

CRISPR Therapeutics Company 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.