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

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRNX) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,220,000 shares, a growth of 6.3% from the March 31st total of 4,910,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 802,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.5 days.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ CRNX opened at $45.05 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a PE ratio of -12.18 and a beta of 0.63. Crinetics Pharmaceuticals has a 52-week low of $15.76 and a 52-week high of $49.58. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.09.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.90) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.89) by ($0.01). Crinetics Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 52.93% and a negative net margin of 4,223.27%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.84) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 100.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Crinetics Pharmaceuticals will post -3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CRNX shares. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.00.

Insider Transactions at Crinetics Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CEO Richard Scott Struthers sold 40,951 shares of the company’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 value of $2,013,560.67. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 237,835 shares in the company, valued at $11,694,346.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Richard Scott Struthers sold 40,951 shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.17, for a total transaction of $2,013,560.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 237,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,694,346.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Stephanie Okey sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.38, for a total transaction of $811,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $278,280. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 187,216 shares of company stock worth $8,509,397 over the last ninety days. 7.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 73.1% in the 1st quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 13,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $626,000 after buying an additional 5,643 shares during the period. HighMark Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 305.1% during the first quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC now owns 17,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $806,000 after acquiring an additional 12,965 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 2.5% in the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 38,087 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,783,000 after acquiring an additional 927 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,502,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,617,000 after purchasing an additional 95,417 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 719.3% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 441,295 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,701,000 after buying an additional 387,435 shares in the last quarter. 98.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.