CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) Short Interest Up 5.4% in December

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 19,100,000 shares, an increase 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 currently 11.4 days.

Insider Transactions at CRISPR Therapeutics

In related news, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 15,000 shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated 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 trade represents a 7.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CRISPR Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CRSP. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in CRISPR Therapeutics by 4.0% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 18,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $994,000 after acquiring an additional 703 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 950,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,326,000 after buying an additional 19,094 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 10,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $583,000 after buying an additional 447 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its holdings in CRISPR Therapeutics by 13.2% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 4,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $225,000 after buying an additional 486 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in CRISPR Therapeutics in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,449,000. Institutional investors own 69.20% of the company’s stock.

CRISPR Therapeutics Price Performance

CRSP stock traded up $0.23 on Friday, reaching $40.53. 1,367,550 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,559,954. CRISPR Therapeutics has a 12 month low of $36.52 and a 12 month high of $91.10. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $45.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.08. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported ($1.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $6.65 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.41) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that CRISPR Therapeutics will post -5.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRSP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $84.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $59.00 to $55.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America dropped 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. Finally, Chardan Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $94.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.