CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) Short Interest Update

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 19,100,000 shares, a growth of 5.4% from the December 15th total of 18,120,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,670,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 11.4 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.10, for a total value of $826,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 181,540 shares in the company, valued at $10,002,854. This represents a 7.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 4.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter worth $70,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of CRSP stock traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $40.53. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,367,550 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,559,954. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.08. CRISPR Therapeutics has a 12-month low of $36.52 and a 12-month high of $91.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a PE ratio of -14.32 and a beta of 1.68.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $84.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $86.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Chardan Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $94.00 price target on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $98.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $78.38.

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.