Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRNX) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRNX) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,860,000 shares, an increase of 16.5% from the May 31st total of 5,030,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 878,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from $55.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 4th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Citigroup initiated coverage on Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, Jonestrading lifted their target price on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.50.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $44.79 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.85 and a beta of 0.64. Crinetics Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $15.76 and a one year high of $53.70. The business has a fifty day moving average of $46.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.04.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported ($0.93) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.84) by ($0.09). Crinetics Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4,223.27% and a negative return on equity of 42.50%. The firm had revenue of $0.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.20 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.85) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 76.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Crinetics Pharmaceuticals will post -3.53 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Jeff E. Knight sold 956 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.38, for a total transaction of $42,427.28. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 52,580 shares in the company, valued at $2,333,500.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Jeff E. Knight sold 956 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.38, for a total value of $42,427.28. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 52,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,333,500.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Richard Scott Struthers sold 40,951 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.17, for a total transaction of $2,013,560.67. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 237,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,694,346.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 197,230 shares of company stock worth $9,529,850. Insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 264.1% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,978,172 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,526,000 after purchasing an additional 1,434,909 shares during the last quarter. Artal Group S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals during the 1st quarter worth $65,088,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 77.7% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,547,683 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,647,000 after buying an additional 1,113,992 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 27.1% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,823,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $178,966,000 after buying an additional 814,360 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 24.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,407,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $101,325,000 after acquiring an additional 674,301 shares during 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.