CRSP · CRISPR Therapeutics
Conviction · Low · more likely to lag the S&P 500 over the next three months
Wrong if: a daily close above $50.04
Updated ·
Price against the kill line
15.6% clear of its kill line on the 13 November 2026 close.
How to read this
This note expects the shares to lag the market, so its kill line sits above the price: a close above the red mark would prove the view wrong. Prices run from low on the left to high on the right. The dot is where the stock closed on 13 November 2026, left of the mark while it is below the line; a dot right of the mark has closed through it.
The scale is stretched near the line, so close calls are easy to see. More than 8% from the line, the stock reads well clear, with a hollow dot to show the figure is off the drawn scale.
The kill line is the research note's own test. The portfolio sells on business facts, not on a price. How the portfolio decides
Three months against the kill line
Daily closes, to . Red: the kill line, a daily close above $50.04, set on 13 November 2026. The shares are down 22.2% since the close; the S&P 500 is down 2.1% over the same sessions. Figures in the note can cover a different window.
Kill line
A daily close above $50.04, the 9 November 2026 close before the post-data drop, which would show the shares recovering the whole decline and leading again.
Research onlyNot in the portfolio.
Catalyst
Key figures from the filings · Health Care
Quarter to 30 September 2026, filed 2 November 2026; valuation at the 13 November 2026 close
- Revenue, latest quarter ($M)
- 12.7
- Revenue, change on a year (%)
- +1325.1
- Operating margin (%)
- −1026.5
- Free cash flow, four quarters ($M)
- −377
- Net cash, cash less debt ($M)
- 1,686
- Enterprise value to sales (×)
- 95.8
- Free-cash-flow yield (%)
- −9.2
All filed numbers
What CRISPR Therapeutics reports to the SEC in its quarterly and annual filings. Each group states its period and filing date once; a figure dated otherwise says so. Built from the filings known on .
| Quarter to | Revenue ($M) | On a year (%) | Operating margin (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| filed | 12.7 | +1325.1 | −1026.5 |
| filed | 10.2 | +1041.4 | −1151.8 |
| filed | 1.5 | +68.6 | −8933.3 |
| filed | 0.9 | −97.6 | −17912.5 |
| filed | 0.9 | +47.7 | −14854.8 |
| filed | 0.9 | +72.5 | −25709.0 |
| Pre-tax income ($M) | −111 |
| Net income ($M) four quarters: −456 | −111 |
| Diluted shares, change on a year (%) against the quarter to 30 September 2025 | +6.0 |
| Operating cash flow ($M) | −375 |
| Capital spending ($M) | 2.1 |
| Free cash flow ($M) | −377 |
| Cash and short-term investments ($M) | 2,273 |
| Debt ($M) long-term debt | 587 |
| Net cash, cash less debt ($M) | 1,686 |
| Deferred revenue ($M) +96.6% on a year | 2.5 |
| Backlog, orders not yet delivered ($M) | Not reported |
| Receivables ($M) at 31 December 2025, filed 12 February 2026 | 0.0 |
| Inventory ($M) | Not reported |
| Shareholders' equity ($M) | 1,648 |
| Market value ($M) | 4,097 |
| Enterprise value, market value plus net debt ($M) | 2,412 |
| Enterprise value to sales (×) | 95.8 |
| Enterprise value to operating income (×) | Not meaningful |
| Price to earnings (×) | Not meaningful |
| Price to book value (×) | 2.5 |
| Free-cash-flow yield (%) | −9.2 |
Short interest (FINRA, settled 15 October 2026, published 13 November 2026): 16.9% of shares outstanding sold short, 10.2 days of average trading to cover, −12.0% since the previous report.
| Window | Bought | Sold |
|---|---|---|
| 90 daysfrom | $0 | $4.9M |
| 12 monthsfrom | $0 | $17.9M |
The thesis
CRISPR Therapeutics shares are more likely to lag the S&P 500 over the next three months. The company is producing good clinical data, but the shares fell on it. They closed at a 52-week closing low of $42.62 on 12 November 2026. The zugo-cel data due at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting in December is the next clinical test.
The business is moving the right way. Sales of CASGEVY, the sickle-cell and beta-thalassemia therapy CRISPR shares with Vertex, reached $99 million in the third quarter of 2026. That was up 30% from the previous quarter, according to the company's 2 November 2026 results 8-K. On 9 November 2026 the CTX310 cholesterol and triglyceride program reported a 63% fall in triglycerides after one treatment.
The shares still closed at $45.15 on 10 November 2026, down from $50.04 the session before. None of the coverage gave a reason for the drop. The rating is Low because the shares sit below both their 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Insiders sold through September and October, and the next confirmed company event, a 17 November 2026 conference appearance, is not a data event.
What the price already reflects: cash and marketable securities were $2.28 billion on 30 September 2026, according to the 8-K. MarketBeat put the company's market value at $4.41 billion on 10 November 2026. A large part of the valuation is cash, and the market is paying little for the pipeline after positive readouts.
Bullish and bearish views on CRISPR Therapeutics AG
The bull case on CRISPR Therapeutics AG (CRSP), in brief: CASGEVY sales are compounding. The bear case: the shares fell on good news.
Bull case
- CASGEVY sales are compounding. Third-quarter 2026 CASGEVY revenue was $99 million, nearly six times the third quarter of 2025, and more than 750 patients had started treatment (company 8-K, 2 November 2026). Vertex runs the launch, and CRISPR shares profits and costs on a 60/40 split, taking the 40% share.
- CTX310 data beat one analyst's expectations. One course of CTX310 cut ANGPTL3, a protein that raises blood fats, by 65% and triglycerides by 63% at Day 30 in 10 patients with severe hypertriglyceridemia, with no treatment-related serious adverse events (company release, 9 November 2026). Benzinga reported on 10 November 2026 that William Blair called the results ahead of its estimate of about 50%.
- Regulators gave CTX310 a faster review path. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave CTX310 Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy designations for severe hypertriglyceridemia and for elevated LDL cholesterol (company news, 2 November 2026).
- Zugo-cel is showing early activity in autoimmune disease. In refractory systemic sclerosis, 83% of patients met the rCRISS-25 response measure at Month 3 (company update, 8 November 2026).
- A large cash balance pays for the pipeline. Cash and marketable securities were $2,276.6 million on 30 September 2026, up from $1.98 billion at the end of 2025 (2 November 2026 8-K).
- Most covering analysts remain constructive. Citi raised its target to $90 on 4 November 2026. Needham kept $82 on 3 November 2026, and Piper Sandler kept $110 after the 9 November 2026 data. MarketBeat's consensus target was $69.69 on 10 November 2026.
Bear case
- The shares fell on good news. The shares closed at $45.15 on 10 November 2026 after the CTX310 presentation, from $50.04 the session before. They then closed at $42.62 on 12 November 2026, the lowest close of the past year.
- Losses are widening. The third-quarter 2026 net loss was $111.4 million, or $1.15 per share, against $106.4 million a year earlier (2 November 2026 8-K). Research and development spending rose to $71.9 million from $58.9 million.
- Company revenue is small. CRISPR booked $12.669 million of total revenue in the third quarter of 2026 (2 November 2026 8-K). Most CASGEVY economics show up through the collaboration with Vertex rather than as product sales.
- Insiders sold on option exercises. SEC Form 4 filings show Chief Executive Samarth Kulkarni sold 47,837 shares at $49.78 on 19 October 2026 after exercising 100,000 options. Director Ali Behbahani sold 13,679 shares at $57.09 on 17 September 2026, and director Simeon George sold 14,514 shares at $49.63 on 14 October 2026 under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
- One target was cut after the quarter. Wells Fargo lowered its target to $70 from $75 on 4 November 2026 and kept an Equal-Weight rating.
Price setup
The shares closed at $42.62 on 12 November 2026, the 52-week closing low. That close is 32.8% below the 52-week intraday high of $63.45, set on 6 July 2026. The 3-month change is −20.4%, measured from a $53.55 close on 14 August 2026.
Both moving averages sit well above the price. As of 12 November 2026, the 50-day moving average was $52.38 and the 200-day was $52.58. Both are nearly flat. The $50.04 close on 9 November 2026 is the last price before the post-data drop. A move back through that close and the two averages would show buyers taking the clinical results at face value.
The closes from 5 November to 9 November 2026 ran between $48.56 and $50.07, and the shares have traded below that range since 10 November 2026. Insider sales in September and October were made between $49.26 and $60.24 (SEC Form 4 filings). Those prices sit above the current range.
Catalysts ahead
- 17 November 2026: Management fireside chat at the 2026 Jefferies Global Healthcare Conference in London, 10:00 a.m. GMT. Management's first public comments since the shares fell after the CTX310 data; any word on CTX310 development plans or partnering would show how the company intends to fund the cardiovascular program.
- ~December 2026 (est.): Zugo-cel clinical data at the 68th ASH Annual Meeting. Zugo-cel data from the trial in B-cell cancers is the next clinical readout. A positive reception that lifts the shares would cut against the lag call.
- by 31 December 2026 (company target): CTX611 Phase 2 update in patients undergoing total knee replacement. This is the remaining second-half 2026 pipeline milestone the company named on 2 November 2026; a miss or a delay would add to the pressure on the shares.
- ~February 2027 (est.): Fourth-quarter and full-year 2026 results. Shows whether CASGEVY growth continued after the $99 million third quarter and how fast cash is being spent against the $2.28 billion balance.
What would change the view
A daily close above $50.04, the 9 November 2026 close before the post-data drop, which would show the shares recovering the whole decline and leading again.
What it trades with
CRISPR trades as a higher-beta biotech name: MarketBeat listed a beta of 1.92 on 10 November 2026. It tends to move with the wider biotech group and with other gene-editing developers. The shares rise and fall on clinical readouts more than on CASGEVY sales.
Vertex reports CASGEVY's sales, so Vertex's own quarterly reports and its launch commentary feed into the shares. CTX310 also links the stock to the cardiovascular group. Readouts from other drugs that lower triglycerides or ANGPTL3 change how investors value a one-time gene-editing treatment against repeat-dose medicines.
Notes
- CRISPR Therapeutics is a Swiss company (AG) whose ordinary shares trade directly on the Nasdaq under CRSP; it is not an ADR.
- CASGEVY is commercialised by Vertex, which leads the launch; CRISPR shares program profits and costs on a 60/40 split, with Vertex taking 60%.
- Several CRISPR insiders sell shares around option exercises, some under Rule 10b5-1 trading plans, so Form 4 sales recur through the year.
The evidence, claim by claim (7)
- CASGEVY revenue was $99 million in the third quarter of 2026, up 30% from the previous quarter and nearly six times the third quarter of 2025; more than 750 patients had initiated treatment. CRISPR Therapeutics 8-K, Exhibit 99.1, 2 November 2026 · as of
- Third-quarter 2026 net loss was $111.4 million, or $1.15 per share, against $106.4 million a year earlier; research and development expense was $71.9 million against $58.9 million. CRISPR Therapeutics 8-K, Exhibit 99.1, 2 November 2026 · as of
- Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities totalled $2,276.6 million on 30 September 2026. CRISPR Therapeutics 8-K, Exhibit 99.1, 2 November 2026 · as of
- A single course of CTX310 reduced ANGPTL3 by a mean 65% and triglycerides by 63% at Day 30 in 10 patients with severe hypertriglyceridemia, with no treatment-related serious adverse events. CRISPR Therapeutics release, AHA Scientific Sessions 2026 · as of
- The FDA granted CTX310 Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy designations for severe hypertriglyceridemia and for elevated LDL cholesterol. CRISPR Therapeutics third-quarter 2026 business update · as of
- Chief Executive Samarth Kulkarni sold 47,837 shares at $49.78 in the open market after exercising 100,000 options. SEC Form 4 filed 20 October 2026 · as of
- Citi raised its price target to $90 with a Buy rating; Wells Fargo cut its target to $70 from $75 with an Equal-Weight rating. Analyst actions reported 4 November 2026 (Benzinga, Investing.com) · as of
Sources
- CRISPR Therapeutics AG - Form 8-K - FY2026 · sec.gov
- CRISPR Therapeutics Highlights Substantial Lipid Reductions with Investigational Gene Editing Therapy · benzinga.com
- CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CRSP) Stock Price Down 9.1% - What's Next? · marketbeat.com ·
- A healthcare conference chat featuring CRISPR Therapeutics will stream live Nov. 17. · stocktitan.net
- Wells Fargo cuts CRISPR Therapeutics stock price target on earnings · investing.com
- Piper Sandler reiterates CRISPR Therapeutics stock rating at overweight · investing.com
- CRISPR Therapeutics Provides Business Update and Reports Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results · finviz.com
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