Short Interest in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRNX) Grows By 6.3%

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRNX) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,220,000 shares, an increase 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 currently 6.5 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Dana Pizzuti sold 15,089 shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.06, for a total transaction of $664,821.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 27,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,224,251.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Richard Scott Struthers sold 40,951 shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 237,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,694,346.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Dana Pizzuti sold 15,089 shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.06, for a total value of $664,821.34. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,224,251.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 187,216 shares of company stock valued at $8,509,397. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Crinetics Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRNX. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 77.7% during the fourth 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 last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 97.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,140,861 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,669,000 after buying an additional 1,057,947 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 24.7% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,407,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,325,000 after buying an additional 674,301 shares during the last quarter. Avidity Partners Management LP acquired a new position in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals during the third quarter worth $18,141,000. Finally, Eventide Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 134.3% during the third quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 1,018,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,299,000 after buying an additional 584,014 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.51% of the company’s stock.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of CRNX opened at $45.05 on Thursday. Crinetics Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $15.76 and a one year high of $49.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.18 and a beta of 0.63. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $43.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.04.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.90) 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.84) EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 100.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Crinetics Pharmaceuticals will post -3.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRNX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Jonestrading boosted their price target on Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from $54.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

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.