CRISPR Therapeutics CRSP reported fourth-quarter 2024 loss of 44 cents per share, narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of $1.15. In the year-ago period, the company recorded earnings of $1.10 per share on account of higher collaboration revenues.
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Total revenues, comprising grant and collaboration revenues, amounted to $35.7 million in the quarter, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $10 million. In the year-ago period, the company recorded total revenues of $201.2 million, primarily comprising collaboration revenues received from Vertex Pharmaceuticals VRTX in connection with the approval of Casgevy for two blood disorder indications.
More on CRSP’s Q4 Earnings
Research and development expenses fell 14% year over year to $82.2 million. This was due to reduced variable external research and manufacturing costs.
General and administrative expenses increased 10% year over year to $18.1 million in the quarter.
CRISPR Therapeutics did not record any collaboration expense for the fourth quarter of 2024, as it had reached the cost deferral limit for the Casgevy program in the previous quarter.
As of Dec. 31, 2024, the company had cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities worth $1.90 billion compared with $1.94 billion as of Sept. 30, 2024.
Shares of CRISPR Therapeutics have lost 20.4% in the past three months compared with the industry’s decline of 7.9%.
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CRSP’s Full-Year 2024 Results
For 2024, CRISPR Therapeutics generated total revenues of $37.3 million, reflecting a substantial decrease over the previous year’s revenues of $371.2 million, fueled by high collaboration revenues from Vertex.
For the same period, the company reported a loss of $4.34 per share, wider than the year-ago loss of $1.94.
CRSP/VRTX’s Strong Global Launch Efforts for Casgevy
CRISPR Therapeutics and partner Vertex’s one-shot ex-vivo gene therapy, Casgevy, was approved in late 2023/early 2024 for two blood disorders — sickle cell disease and transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia — in the United States, Europe and several other countries. VRTX leads the global development and commercialization of Casgevy under the terms of the 2021 agreement with support from CRSP.
Per management, more than 50 authorized treatment centers (ATCs) have been activated globally as of the end of 2024 and more than 50 patients have already had at least one cell collection across all regions. New patient starts are expected to grow significantly throughout 2025. During its fourth-quarter earnings release on Monday, Vertex recorded $8 million in product revenues from Casgevy sales.
CRSP’s Pipeline Updates
Apart from Casgevy, CRSP is pursuing the development of CRISPR candidates to create novel CAR-T cell therapies. The company is currently focused on prioritizing the development of next-generation CAR-T therapy candidates — CTX112 (targeting CD19-positive B-cell malignancies) and CTX131 (targeting relapsed or refractory solid tumors) — in separate phase I/II studies. Last year, the company announced the success of its phase I/II study of CTX112 for relapsed or refractory B-cell malignancies. CRISPR Therapeutics is planning to discuss the results with regulatory authorities to align on the path forward for CTX112 in B-cell malignancies. An update on the same is expected in mid-2025.
Management is also exploring the potential of these next-generation candidates in other indications. CRSP has initiated two new clinical studies — one evaluating CTX131 for hematological malignancies (including T-cell lymphomas) and another assessing CTX112 in systemic lupus erythematosus indication, systemic sclerosis and inflammatory myositis. Updates from both these studies are expected in 2025.
Management is also focusing on in-vivo 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.
CRISPR Therapeutics AG Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
CRISPR Therapeutics AG Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
CRISPR Therapeutics AG price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | CRISPR Therapeutics AG Quote
CRSP's Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider
CRISPR Therapeutics currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks from the sector are BioMarin Pharmaceutical BMRN and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals ALNY, each currently carryinga Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 (Strong Buy) Rank stocks here.
In the past 30 days, estimates for BioMarin Pharmaceutical’s 2024 earnings per share have increased from $3.28 to $3.29. Estimates for 2025 earnings per share have decreased from $4.02 to $4.01 during the same timeframe. In the past three months, BioMarin Pharmaceutical shares have lost 4.7%.
BMRN’s earnings beat estimates in each of the trailing four quarters, delivering an average surprise of 28.7%.
In the past 30 days, estimates for Alnylam Pharmaceuticals’ 2024 loss per share have remained constant at 39 cents. The estimate for 2025 earnings per share is currently pegged at 41 cents. In the past three months, shares of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals have gained 1.7%.
ALNY’s earnings beat estimates in three of the trailing four quarters and matched once, delivering an average surprise of 65.67%.
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