CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP) Surges after Director Buys over $51M Worth of Shares

CRISPR Therapeutics AG (CRSP) hit a new 52-week high on Friday after an insider bought a large number of shares, which demonstrated that he was very confident in the company. The stock reached a high of $66.49 during midday trading, up from its previous close of $55.09, before pulling back to around $64 at the time of writing. Trading volume also surged to over 6 million shares, which is more than double the average volume from the past three months, and shows an increased interest from investors after the news.

The major purchase was made by Director Simeon George, who bought 989,812 shares of the company on Wednesday, July 16, at an average price of $52.03 per share. The total value of the transaction came to $51,499,918.36. As a result of this purchase, George now directly owns 1,730,179 shares that are valued at approximately $110 million based on the recent stock price. This was a significant 133.69% increase in his ownership, according to a filing with the SEC.

This kind of insider buying is important because it suggests that the director strongly believes in the company’s future. Indeed, insiders often sell for a variety of reasons, such as asset diversification or estate planning. However, they only invest large sums of their own personal wealth for one reason: they expect the stock to go up. Therefore, moves like this often boost investor confidence, which helped drive the stock’s sharp rise following the announcement.

Is CRSP Stock a Good Buy?

Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on CRSP stock based on 36 Buys, five Holds, and two Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average CRSP price target of $69.44 per share implies 8.7% upside potential.

See more CRSP analyst ratings