What happened
Shares of CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP 1.35%) sank 12.5% in November, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence.
The biotech company published better-than-expected third-quarter earnings in the month and provided an update on its product pipeline, but its stock sold off amid bearish momentum for the broader market.
Catalysts weighing on the stock market last month included rising Treasury bond yields, ongoing supply-chain issues, and the threat that the emergence of the omicron coronavirus variant would create additional economic disruptions.
Growth-dependent companies were particularly hard hit. CRISPR Therapeutics got caught up in the sell-off and ended the month down by double digits.
Image source: Getty Images.
So what
CRISPR Therapeutics published its Q3 results on Nov. 3; it delivered a narrower-than-expected loss, but also sales that fell short of the market's expectations. The company posted a loss of $1.67 per share on revenue of roughly $820,000, while the average analyst estimate had called for a per-share loss of $1.75 on revenue of $1.3 million.
CRISPR is a clinical-stage biotech company, so its near-term sales and earnings performance isn't a driving force in its stock performance. But the company did provide some significant updates and insights. Even with signs that the company's product pipeline is in good shape, the stock got caught up in last month's big pullback for growth stocks.
Now what
CRISPR Therapeutics stock has continued to fall in early December trading. The company's share price is down roughly 6.9% in the month so far:
Investors shouldn't consider these recent stock pullbacks to be indications of trouble in CRISPR's product pipeline. The company has achieved its targeted enrollment for clinical trials testing CTX001 for the treatment of beta thalassemia and sickle cell disease, and it expects it could have regulatory submissions in by the end of 2022. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also recently granted the Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) designation to CTX110, which should speed up the product's testing for the treatment of hematological malignancies.
CRISPR Therapeutics also recently announced it had received approval from Health Canada for its VCTX210 product. VCTX210 was codeveloped with ViaCyte and is an allogeneic, gene-edited therapy for the treatment of type 1 diabetes. Patient enrollment is slated to begin by the end of this year.
Gene-editing treatments could pave the way for revolutionary healthcare treatments, and significantly extend life spans and quality of life for many patients. While CRISPR Therapeutics is a high-risk stock, recent pullbacks could provide a worthwhile entry point for investors seeking potentially explosive biotech stocks.
