Truist Financial Upgrades CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) to “Strong-Buy”

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Truist Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

CRSP has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Bank of America decreased their price target on CRISPR Therapeutics from $90.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. 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. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $74.00 target price on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.53.

CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CRSP opened at $47.09 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.52 billion, a PE ratio of -7.22 and a beta of 1.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $52.70 and a 200-day moving average of $56.95. CRISPR Therapeutics has a one year low of $30.04 and a one year high of $78.48.

CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported ($1.37) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.15) by ($0.22). The company had revenue of $0.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.72 million. CRISPR Therapeutics had a negative return on equity of 26.31% and a negative net margin of 16,569.77%.The business’s revenue was down 97.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.01) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that CRISPR Therapeutics will post -5.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at CRISPR Therapeutics

In other CRISPR Therapeutics news, General Counsel James R. Kasinger sold 3,450 shares of CRISPR Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.26, for a total transaction of $166,497.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 91,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,403,242.40. The trade was a 3.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.23, for a total value of $3,613,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 134,201 shares in the company, valued at $8,082,926.23. This represents a 30.90% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 141,828 shares of company stock valued at $7,744,397. Company insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of CRISPR Therapeutics

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in CRISPR Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its stake in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics by 71.4% during the 3rd quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Strategic Advocates LLC acquired a new position in shares of CRISPR Therapeutics in the third quarter worth $34,000. 69.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key CRISPR Therapeutics News

Here are the key news stories impacting CRISPR Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlights why CRISPR “outpaced the stock market” today, calling attention to recent investor interest and momentum that can attract short-term buying. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: CRISPR has been a “trending” name on Zacks/Yahoo finance pages — elevated attention can boost volume and volatility but doesn’t by itself change fundamentals. Read More. · Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple short-interest reports show reported short interest of zero shares as of March 24 — the figures appear to contain data or reporting anomalies (NaN increases). Practically, reported zero short interest reduces the likelihood of a short-squeeze narrative, but the data should be treated cautiously until clarified by exchanges or data vendors.
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Samarth Kulkarni sold 10,020 shares on March 23 at an average ~$46.78 (≈$468.7K). Insider sales can be interpreted negatively by some investors despite the CEO retaining a substantial stake (255,501 shares). SEC filing: Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: General Counsel James Kasinger sold 3,182 shares on March 23 at the same average price (~$46.78). Additional insider selling amplifies the negative signal for some investors, though both insiders remain significant holders. SEC filing: Read More.

About CRISPR Therapeutics

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.