CRSP's gene therapy treatment for sickle cell disease got the green light
Crispr Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ:CRSP) stock is down 7.2% to trade at $59.89 at last check, despite its gene therapy treatment for sickle cell disease in partnership with Vertex (VRTX) last week receiving approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The security drew three price-target hikes since the news broke, including one from Needham to $88 from $85. Meanwhile, Truist Securities slashed its price objective to $160 from $220, and TD Cowen downgraded shares to "underperform" from "market perform."
Coming into today, 15 of 25 firms in coverage rated CRSP a "buy" or better, and the 12-month consensus target price of $83.88 now stands a 40.1% premium to current levels.
Options traders are chiming in as well. So far today, 31,000 calls and 13,000 puts have crossed the tape, or double the intraday average volume. Most popular is the December 70 call, where positions are currently being opened, followed by the January 19, 2024 65-strike call.
Crispr Therapeutics stock closed well of its 52-week high of $76.97 on Friday, marking its biggest single-day percentage drop since February. The shares are testing support at their 40-day moving average today, and still boast an impressive 47.3% lead for 2023.
