CRISPR shares fall after gene-editing company’s Q2 falls short of estimates

Shares of CRISPR Therapeutics slid 4% Monday after the Swiss biotech missed Wall Street’s Q2 expectations after the bell Monday, despite growing excitement around its flagship gene-editing therapy.

CRISPR posted a wider-than-expected loss of $2.40 per share, compared to the $1.40 loss forecast by analysts polled by FactSet. Revenue climbed 71% year over year to $900,000 but still came in way below the Street’s forecast of $6.1 million.

For investors, all eyes are on Casgevy, the company’s headline therapy and the first FDA-approved treatment using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing. Casgevy treats rare diseases like sickle cell and transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia. Casgevy is now available at more than 75 treatment centers around the world, hitting its rollout goal and opening the door for more patients to get access.

Though CRISPR codeveloped Casgevy with Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Vertex books the revenue. It reported $30.4 million in Casgevy sales this quarter, up about 114% from the previous quarter.

Despite the earnings miss, CRISPR shares are still up over 43% year to date.