Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Sell”

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on CRNX. Citizens Jmp lowered their price target on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Lifesci Capital raised Crinetics Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, January 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $76.63.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 7.3%

Shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $33.67 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $43.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.92. The firm has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.82 and a beta of 0.23. Crinetics Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $24.10 and a 12 month high of $57.99.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($1.29) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.37) by $0.08. Crinetics Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 6,046.22% and a negative return on equity of 41.46%. The company had revenue of $6.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.32 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.88) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up NaN% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Crinetics Pharmaceuticals will post -3.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Crinetics Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CEO Richard Scott Struthers sold 21,981 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.37, for a total transaction of $821,429.97. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 404,778 shares in the company, valued at $15,126,553.86. This represents a 5.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Tobin Schilke sold 6,713 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.67, for a total transaction of $266,304.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 78,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,099,060.07. The trade was a 7.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 59,717 shares of company stock valued at $2,291,939. Insiders own 4.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crinetics Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CRNX. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 107.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 523.7% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 842 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 707 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 34.6% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. 98.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.