Why CRISPR Therapeutics Stock Is Up Today (Despite Its Q4 Earnings Miss)

By all accounts its stock should be in the red today. CRISPR Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CRSP) only reported $864,000 in fourth-quarter revenue after Thursday's closing bell, leading to a loss of $1.37 per share versus analysts' estimates for a loss of only around $1.20 per share on sales of at least a few million dollars. Yet, as of 2:03 p.m. ET Friday, CRISPR shares are higher to the tune of 9.7%. What gives?

Thank Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: VRTX), mostly.

2026 willl be a pivotal year

CRISPR Therapeutics' gene-editing therapy Casgevy is impressive enough in its own right, by virtue of being the FDA' first-ever approved gene-editing therapy (for the treatment of sickle cell disease). CRISPR Therapeutics still faces the same struggles most other young biotechnology companies do, however. Chief among these challenges is lingering -- and often significant -- losses and inconsistent, unpredictable revenue. Many biotech start-ups need a bigger developmental partner to help a new treatment reach its full commercialization potential.

Image source: Getty Images.

For CRISPR, that partner is licensee Vertex Pharmaceuticals, which coincidentally also reported its fourth-quarter results on Thursday evening. Although it only recorded $54 million worth of Casgevy revenue during the three months ending in December, Vertex added that it anticipates "$500 million or more in revenue from non-CF [cystic fibrosis] products, including increased patient infusions of Casgevy through Vertex's global ATC [authorized treatment centers] network" in 2026.

While Vertex's outlook doesn't clarify exactly how much revenue CRISPR Therapeutics can expect to book for itself in the year ahead nor when it will be booking it, it does confirm that the company's commercialization partner sees growth well beyond Casgevy's 2025 total revenue of $116 million.

Progress ahead, but volatility will remain

Vertex's bold 2026 guidance for Casgevy's sales growth shouldn't actually be all that surprising. Although it was first approved in late-2023, it can take months to prepare treatment centers, and then requires several more months to create each patient-specific treatment. Neither CRISPR Therapeutics nor Vertex Pharmaceuticals ever expected this therapy to produce massive revenue right out of the gate, particularly given its cost of over $2 million per patient.

It's coming now though, slowly but surely. Analysts had been calling for CRISPR Therapeutics to report 2026 revenue of nearly $130 million for months now, well up from 2025's $3.5 million, en route to sales of over $330 million next year. And even then the 147 patients that began their treatment last year are only a tiny fraction of the 60,000 that Vertex says are viable candidates for Casgevy.

Of course, Casgevy also isn't the only gene-editing therapy CRISPR Therapeutics is developing.

Just bear in mind that CRISPR is still an unprofitable biotech start-up. Its stock is sure to remain highly volatile for some time. Today's pop isn't a reason in and of itself to buy it. Interested investors will still mostly want to focus on the long-term potential of its pipeline.

James Brumley has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends CRISPR Therapeutics and Vertex Pharmaceuticals. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.