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

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRNX) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,470,000 shares, an increase of 5.7% from the July 31st total of 6,120,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 809,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 8.0 days.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 2.0 %

NASDAQ:CRNX opened at $52.02 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $50.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.96. Crinetics Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $15.76 and a 12 month high of $55.78. The stock has a market cap of $4.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.76 and a beta of 0.68.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.94) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.86) by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $0.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.47 million. Crinetics Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was down 59.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.94) EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Crinetics Pharmaceuticals will post -3.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Stephen F. Betz sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.86, for a total transaction of $131,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 83,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,668,581.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider James Hassard sold 15,000 shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.66, for a total transaction of $669,900.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,259 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,306,706.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Stephen F. Betz sold 3,000 shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.86, for a total value of $131,580.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 83,643 shares in the company, valued at $3,668,581.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 170,016 shares of company stock worth $8,337,942 over the last quarter. Insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 309.2% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 184,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,551,000 after purchasing an additional 139,117 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 718.6% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 440,893 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,687,000 after acquiring an additional 387,033 shares during the period. AJOVista LLC purchased a new position in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter worth approximately $58,000. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 100.6% in the fourth quarter. Lisanti Capital Growth LLC now owns 100,245 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,567,000 after buying an additional 50,265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 470,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,736,000 after buying an additional 9,070 shares during the last quarter. 98.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $73.00 price target (down from $74.00) on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $97.00 price target on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.75.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.