H.C. Wainwright reiterates Buy on CRISPR stock, $80 target

CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP) will present Phase 1 clinical data on its gene-edited CAR T cell therapy, zugocabtagene geleucel (zugo-cel), for autoimmune diseases at the ACR Convergence 2026. The presentation focuses on the therapy's safety and efficacy in treating refractory systemic sclerosis. CRISPR Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company developing gene-based medicines, with a pipeline spanning various diseases.

Insiders at Snowflake (SNOW), Palo Alto (PANW), Dell (DELL), GameStop (GME), and Crispr (CRSP) made notable trades. SNOW's CRO sold $253,951 in shares, PANW's director sold $7.5M, DELL saw multiple sales totaling $22.9M, GME's CEO bought $26.4M in shares, and CRSP's shareholder sold $780,934. These transactions may signal insider expectations.

Novartis' Phase 3 trial for Pelacarsen showed it lowered lipoprotein(a) but failed to reduce major cardiovascular events. Citi suggests this may influence CRISPR Therapeutics' focus on CTX321 over CTX320, while Ionis Pharmaceuticals may see limited impact. Citi maintains Buy ratings for both companies with price targets of $88 for CRISPR and $100 for Ionis.

Gene-editing stocks fell Wednesday after Anthropic's AI model, Claude, identified a phage enzyme system with traits similar to CRISPR. CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP) dropped 6%, Intellia (NTLA) 3%, Beam (BEAM) 6%, Prime Medicine (PRME) 12%, and Editas Medicine (EDIT) 8%. The discovery, called ART, links an RNA-to-DNA enzyme with repeating DNA and a mystery protein in bacteria-infecting viruses. CRISPR pioneer Feng Zhang called the finding intriguing but unproven.

CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP) shares rose 19% in August following its Q2 earnings report. Sales of its blood disorder treatment Casgevy increased 78% to $76M, and the FDA expanded its approval. Revenue reached $10.2M, up from $892K a year ago, with a net loss of $91.5M. Analysts expected lower revenue and a larger loss. The company is developing treatments for hypertension and other disorders.

CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP) reported $76M in Q2 2026 revenue from Casgevy, up 78% sequentially and 151% YoY. The company has a strong pipeline, including CTX310 for cardiovascular disease and Zugo-cel for autoimmune diseases. With $2.36B in cash and a $5.4B market cap, CRISPR has financial flexibility to advance multiple programs. Success in these areas could significantly increase its valuation by 2031, though risks remain.