Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRNX)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $77.00 to $80.00. The stock had previously closed at $45.95, but opened at $51.24. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Crinetics Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $52.6320, with a volume of 989,688 shares trading hands.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on CRNX. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. JMP Securities boosted their target price on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from $86.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from $73.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Citizens Jmp decreased their price target on Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from $143.00 to $108.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Crinetics Pharmaceuticals presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.55.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Dana Pizzuti sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.66, for a total value of $213,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 66,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,827,078.20. This represents a 7.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Isabel Kalofonos sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total value of $137,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 834 shares in the company, valued at $45,870. This represents a 74.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 4.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Crinetics Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 523.7% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 707 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 23,983.3% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 1,439 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth about $68,000. 98.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 0.2%

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $45.96 and a 200-day moving average of $38.36. The stock has a market cap of $5.05 billion, a PE ratio of -11.75 and a beta of 0.20.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported ($1.38) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.27) by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $0.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $0.39 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.96) earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Crinetics Pharmaceuticals

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.