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CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP) Moves 9.6% Higher: Will This Strength Last?

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CRISPR Therapeutics AG CRSP shares rallied 9.6% in the last trading session to close at $60.08. This move can be attributable to notable volume with a higher number of shares being traded than in a typical session. This compares to the stock's 27.7% gain over the past four weeks.

The rise in CRISPR’s stock price is driven by positive investor sentiment surrounding its pipeline. Last month, the company reported updated data from an early-stage study on the in vivo candidate CTX310, which is designed to target ANGPTL3 for the treatment of atherosclerotic heart disease. The new data showed that a single dose of the therapy demonstrated dose-dependent decreases in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and triglyceride (TG) levels, with peak reduction of up to 82% in TG and up to 86% in LDL. These results have raised excitement around the company’s other pipeline candidates, especially the in vivo pipeline.

This company is expected to post quarterly loss of $1.54 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -3.4%. Revenues are expected to be $5.89 million, up 1032.9% from the year-ago quarter.

Earnings and revenue growth expectations certainly give a good sense of the potential strength in a stock, but empirical research shows that trends in earnings estimate revisions are strongly correlated with near-term stock price movements.

For CRISPR Therapeutics, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. And a stock's price usually doesn't keep moving higher in the absence of any trend in earnings estimate revisions. So, make sure to keep an eye on CRSP going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>

CRISPR Therapeutics is part of the Zacks Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry. Wave Life Sciences WVE, another stock in the same industry, closed the last trading session 10.8% higher at $7.7. WVE has returned -3.9% in the past month.

For Wave Life Sciences, the consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has changed -6.6% over the past month to -$0.28. This represents a change of -12% from what the company reported a year ago. Wave Life Sciences currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

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