Key Points
- CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 6,967 shares on Feb. 19 at an average price of $52.58 for $366,324.86, reducing his stake to 226,106 shares (a 2.99% decrease); he also sold 30,000 and 60,000 shares in January.
- Q4 results missed expectations: CRISPR reported a ($1.37) EPS vs. ($1.15) expected and revenue of $0.86M (down 97.8% YoY), with revenue muted by a revenue-sharing arrangement with Vertex.
- Mixed analyst and institutional backdrop: the consensus from 18 analysts is an average "Hold" rating with a $64.24 target, while large institutions (e.g., ARK, Orbis) hold sizable stakes and GSK initiated a new ~$169M position.
CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) General Counsel James Kasinger sold 2,112 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.58, for a total value of $111,048.96. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 85,115 shares in the company, valued at $4,475,346.70. This represents a 2.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.
CRISPR Therapeutics Price Performance
Shares of CRSP stock opened at $53.46 on Friday. CRISPR Therapeutics AG has a 12-month low of $30.04 and a 12-month high of $78.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.20 and a beta of 1.72. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.22.
CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported ($1.37) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.15) by ($0.22). CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative net margin of 16,569.77% and a negative return on equity of 26.31%. The company had revenue of $0.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.72 million. CRISPR Therapeutics's revenue was down 97.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($1.01) EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that CRISPR Therapeutics AG will post -5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.
CRISPR Therapeutics News Summary
Here are the key news stories impacting CRISPR Therapeutics this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Pipeline and earnings reaction — MarketBeat notes investors cheered Q4 results for pipeline progress and CASGEVY adoption (cash runway ~ $1.9B, CTX611 upside). That optimism helped the stock rebound after earnings even though reported revenue was small due to revenue-sharing with Vertex. CRISPR Therapeutics Gains After Earnings as Pipeline Hope Grows
- Positive Sentiment: Bull case on long-term upside — Seeking Alpha highlights a “Buy” thesis driven by CASGEVY launch economics and CTX611 potential (modeled high peak sales), arguing significant upside exists despite high risk. Crispr Therapeutics: Very High Risk But Even Higher Potential Reward
- Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data ambiguous — reported short interest entries show zero shares/NaN changes and a 0.0 days ratio, which appears to be a reporting artifact rather than meaningful positioning information. No clear short-squeeze or build-up signal.
- Neutral Sentiment: Reassessment pieces — coverage (Yahoo) asks whether the recent rebound warrants a rethink, reflecting mixed analyst views and technical levels to watch; useful for investors weighing timing. Is It Time To Reassess CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP) After Recent Share Price Rebound?
- Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — CEO Samarth Kulkarni and General Counsel James Kasinger sold shares on Feb 19 (CEO ~6,967 shares; GC ~2,112 shares), modestly reducing their positions. Insider sales can signal near-term caution to some investors. CEO Filing GC Filing
- Negative Sentiment: Near-term fundamentals and skepticism — Q4 showed a big EPS miss and revenue limited by a revenue-share with Vertex; some analysts (e.g., Morgan Stanley cited in coverage) remain cautious with low price targets. Pessimistic takes (Fool) question the long-term payoff versus risk. Is CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Going to $0, or Will the Hype Pay Off?
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an "underweight" rating and set a $33.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Tuesday. Chardan Capital upped their target price on CRISPR Therapeutics from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, February 14th. Bank of America dropped their price target on CRISPR Therapeutics from $90.00 to $89.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Citizens Jmp reduced their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $86.00 to $80.00 and set a "market outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $64.24.
Check Out Our Latest Report on CRISPR Therapeutics
Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics
A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,022 shares of the company's stock valued at $683,000 after acquiring an additional 764 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 8,566 shares of the company's stock worth $449,000 after purchasing an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Equity LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at $634,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the fourth quarter worth about $165,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.20% of the company's stock.
CRISPR Therapeutics Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
CRISPR Therapeutics AG is a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of gene-editing therapies based on the CRISPR/Cas9 platform. The company applies its proprietary technology to modify genes in human cells, aiming to create durable treatments for a range of serious diseases. Its research and development efforts focus on both ex vivo and in vivo applications, enabling targeted correction or disruption of disease-causing genes.
Among its lead programs is CTX001, an ex vivo edited cell therapy designed to treat sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent β-thalassemia in collaboration with Vertex Pharmaceuticals.
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