Cronos Group (NASDAQ:CRON) vs. Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX) Critical Survey

Cronos Group (NASDAQ:CRON) and Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX) are both medical companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, earnings and risk.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Cronos Group and Crinetics Pharmaceuticals”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Cronos Group	$146.59 million	6.52	-$9.45 million	($0.01)	-254.00
Crinetics Pharmaceuticals	$7.70 million	513.23	-$465.32 million	($5.13)	-7.31

Cronos Group has higher revenue and earnings than Crinetics Pharmaceuticals. Cronos Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Cronos Group and Crinetics Pharmaceuticals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cronos Group	-6.44%	-1.12%	-1.07%
Crinetics Pharmaceuticals	-2,747.18%	-46.02%	-41.23%

Risk and Volatility

Cronos Group has a beta of 0.87, suggesting that its share price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Crinetics Pharmaceuticals has a beta of 0.28, suggesting that its share price is 72% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

8.7% of Cronos Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 98.5% of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.8% of Cronos Group shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 4.6% of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for Cronos Group and Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cronos Group	1	2	2	0	2.20
Crinetics Pharmaceuticals	1	0	8	1	2.90

Cronos Group currently has a consensus price target of $2.30, indicating a potential downside of 9.45%. Crinetics Pharmaceuticals has a consensus price target of $76.50, indicating a potential upside of 104.11%. Given Crinetics Pharmaceuticals’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Crinetics Pharmaceuticals is more favorable than Cronos Group.

Summary

Cronos Group beats Crinetics Pharmaceuticals on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Cronos Group

Cronos Group Inc. operates as a cannabinoid company that engages in the cultivation, production and marketing of cannabis products in Canada, Israel, and Germany. It offers dried flower, pre-rolls, oils, vaporizers, edibles, and cannabis tinctures under the Spinach, Lord Jones, and PEACE NATURALS brands. Cronos Group Inc. was founded in 2012 and is based in Toronto, Canada.

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. It is also developing CRN04894, an investigational oral nonpeptide product candidate to antagonize the adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) receptor that has completed a Phase 1 study for the treatment of diseases caused by excess ACTH, including congenital adrenal hyperplasia and Cushing's disease. In addition, the company is developing antagonists of the parathyroid hormone (PTH) receptor for the treatment of primary hyperparathyroidism and humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy, and other diseases of excess PTH; identified investigational orally available somatostatin receptor type 3 targeted nonpeptide agonists for the treatment of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease; and developing thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor antagonists for the treatment of graves' disease and thyroid eye disease, as well as Oral GLP-1 and GIP nonpeptides for the treatment of diabetes and obesity. Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was incorporated in 2008 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.