Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRNX) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $84.00 and last traded at $83.9140, with a volume of 1162184 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $83.87.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CRNX has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citizens Jmp cut Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. HC Wainwright lowered Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $81.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen cut Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.27.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.0%

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.85 billion, a PE ratio of -16.36 and a beta of 0.23.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($1.23) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.22) by ($0.01). Crinetics Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 43.96% and a negative net margin of 2,747.18%.The company had revenue of $10.73 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.51 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.04) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2873.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -4.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Crinetics Pharmaceuticals

In other Crinetics Pharmaceuticals news, Director Stephanie Okey sold 6,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.67, for a total value of $246,123.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $228,288. This trade represents a 51.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Coelho Rogerio Vivaldi sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $120,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 19,225 shares in the company, valued at $769,000. The trade was a 13.50% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crinetics Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CRNX. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 44.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,381,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $349,110,000 after acquiring an additional 2,574,683 shares during the period. Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its position in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 20.2% during the 4th quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 6,933,098 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,736,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163,000 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,520,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $164,227,000 after purchasing an additional 79,560 shares in the last quarter. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP now owns 2,550,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,240,000 after purchasing an additional 207,221 shares during the period. Finally, Siren L.L.C. lifted its position in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 26.3% in the 1st quarter. Siren L.L.C. now owns 1,903,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,140,000 after purchasing an additional 396,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.51% of the company’s stock.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel therapeutics for rare endocrine diseases. The company’s proprietary platform leverages insights into hormone receptor signaling to design small-molecule candidates that address conditions driven by dysregulated hormone activity. Crinetics’ research efforts center on targeting somatostatin, vasopressin and other GPCR-mediated pathways with orally bioavailable molecules intended to improve patient convenience and adherence.

The company’s lead product candidate, paltusotine (formerly CRN04777), is a selective, non-peptide somatostatin receptor type 2 agonist being evaluated for the treatment of acromegaly and carcinoid syndrome diarrhea.