Should CRSP Stock Be in Your Portfolio Pre-Q3 Earnings?

CRISPR Therapeutics CRSP is expected to report third-quarter 2025 earnings later this week. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for quarterly sales is pegged at $6.71 million, while that for earnings is pinned at a loss of $1.32 per share. Estimates for the company’s 2025 loss per share have widened slightly from $6.59 to $6.66 in the past 30 days.

CRSP’s Earnings Surprise History

The biotech firm’s performance has been decent over the past four quarters. Its earnings beat estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and missed the mark on one occasion, delivering an average surprise of 18.41%. In the last reported quarter, CRISPR’s earnings beat expectations by 12.24%.

What Our Model Predicts for CRSP

Our proven model predicts an earnings beat for CRISPR Therapeutics this time around. The combination of a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold) increases the odds of an earnings beat. This is the case here, as you will see below. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they're reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Earnings ESP: CRISPR Therapeutics has an Earnings ESP of +3.53%. The Most Accurate Estimate stands at a loss of $1.27 per share, while the Zacks Consensus Estimate is pegged at a loss of $1.32.

Zacks Rank: CRSP currently carries a Zacks Rank #3. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Factors Shaping CRSP’s Upcoming Results

CRISPR Therapeutics’ top line currently includes grants and collaboration revenues from its partnership with large-cap biotech Vertex Pharmaceuticals VRTX.

CRSP and partner VRTX’s one-shot gene therapy, Casgevy, was approved in late 2023/early 2024 for two blood disorders — sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia (TDT) — in the United States and Europe. This product is the first and currently the only marketed product in CRSP’s portfolio.

Per the collaboration terms, Vertex leads global development, manufacturing and commercialization, and splits program costs and profits worldwide in a 60:40 ratio with the company. CRSP is currently recording its share of Casgevy's sales as an adjustment to collaboration expenses (net). Casgevy sales have been rising in recent quarters, which is likely to have led to an improvement in collaboration expense for the September quarter.

Investors will also be keen to get more updates related to the commercial progress of Casgevy on the upcoming earnings call.

CRISPR Therapeutics is pursuing the development of CRISPR candidates to create novel CAR-T cell therapies. It is currently focused on the development of two next-generation CAR-T therapy candidates — CTX112 (for CD9-positive B-cell malignancies and autoimmune disorders) and CTX131 (for solid tumors and hematological malignancies) — in separate phase I/II studies. Updates from all these studies are expected during the upcoming call.

Apart from immuno-oncology candidates, CRISPR Therapeutics is currently studying its first two in-vivo candidates, CTX310 and CTX320, in separate phase I clinical studies targeting ANGPTL3 and lipoprotein(a), respectively. The company intends to further expand its in-vivo pipeline with two more programs, CTX340 (for refractory hypertension) and CTX450 (for acute hepatic porphyria), which it plans to advance to clinical development before this year’s end. We expect the company to provide an update on these programs during the Q3 results discussion.

Activities related to developing the company’s pipeline candidates are likely to have escalated operating expenses in the to-be-reported quarter.

Nevertheless, a single quarter’s results are not so important for long-term investors. Let us delve deeper to understand whether it would be a prudent move to buy, sell, or hold the stock at present.

CRSP’s Stock Price Performance & Valuation

This year so far, CRISPR’s shares have surged nearly 63% compared with the industry’s 12% growth. It has also outperformed the broader Medical sector and the S&P 500 Index. The stock is currently trading above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.

CRSP Stock Outperforms Industry, Sector & S&P 500

From a valuation standpoint, CRSP trades at a modest discount to the industry. Going by the price/book ratio, the company’s shares currently trade at 3.40 times the trailing 12-month book value, which is slightly less than 3.51 for the industry.

Our Investment Thesis on CRSP Stock

While CRISPR’s pipeline remains largely in early development, the approval of Casgevy marked a turning point by establishing its first commercial revenue stream. Although initial sales were slow, uptake has been improving as more treatment centers come online, which could drive steady revenue growth in upcoming quarters.

Casgevy’s launch provides CRISPR Therapeutics with a first-mover advantage over peers such as Beam Therapeutics BEAM and Intellia Therapeutics NTLA, whose CRISPR-based therapies are still in clinical development. The Vertex partnership further enhances commercial execution, with shared development and marketing responsibilities helping streamline costs and scale distribution.

How to Play CRSP Stock

We would suggest holding on to this stock for now, considering its growth prospects. While rising expenses related to these programs have pressured near-term loss estimates, they also highlight CRISPR Therapeutics’ continued investment in innovation beyond Casgevy. The company is also expected to provide updates on its immuno-oncology pipeline before year-end, which could act as a key stock catalyst.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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