Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRNX) Short Interest Up 10.7% in December

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRNX) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,920,000 shares, a growth of 10.7% from the December 15th total of 6,250,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 776,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 8.9 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRNX has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $81.00 price target on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $87.00 price target on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 16th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.40.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CRNX traded up $0.87 during trading on Friday, reaching $37.35. 761,824 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 630,193. Crinetics Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $35.24 and a fifty-two week high of $62.53. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.05. The firm has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a PE ratio of -10.01 and a beta of 0.60.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.96) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.91) by ($0.05). During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($1.01) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Crinetics Pharmaceuticals will post -3.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Jeff E. Knight sold 501 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.52, for a total value of $28,316.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 51,653 shares in the company, valued at $2,919,427.56. This trade represents a 0.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crinetics Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRNX. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,126 shares of the company’s stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 11,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $587,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 22.8% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank raised its stake in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 20.8% in the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 20,633 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,054,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.51% of the company’s stock.

About Crinetics Pharmaceuticals

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of novel therapeutics for rare endocrine diseases and endocrine-related tumors. The company's lead product candidate is paltusotine, an oral selective nonpeptide somatostatin receptor type 2 agonist, which is in Phase 3 trial for the treatment of acromegaly; and Phase 2 trial for treating carcinoid syndrome associated with neuroendocrine tumors.