Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRNX) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRNX) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $77.60.

Several research firms recently commented on CRNX. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from $62.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $85.00 price target (up from $81.00) on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jeff E. Knight sold 85,163 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.10, for a total transaction of $3,415,036.30. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 105,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,222,088.90. This trade represents a 44.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Stephanie Okey sold 6,900 shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.67, for a total transaction of $246,123.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $228,288. The trade was a 51.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 3.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CRNX. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 107.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth $45,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 34.6% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,225 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arax Advisory Partners lifted its stake in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 131.2% during the 4th quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 1,498 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 850 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.51% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Crinetics Pharmaceuticals

Here are the key news stories impacting Crinetics Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Vertex agreed to acquire Crinetics Pharmaceuticals for $85.00 per share in cash, valuing the company at roughly $10 billion and likely setting a near-term floor near the deal price. Vertex to Acquire Crinetics Pharmaceuticals
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage turned more constructive, with Robert W. Baird raising its price target to $85 and reiterating an outperform rating, reinforcing the takeover valuation. Benzinga coverage of Robert W. Baird update
• Neutral Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald and HC Wainwright both reiterated neutral views, indicating the stock is now largely trading on deal terms rather than on standalone fundamentals. Benzinga analyst updates
• Neutral Sentiment: Law firms Brodsky & Smith, Ademi LLP, and Halper Sadeh announced investigations into whether Crinetics’ board secured a fair price for shareholders, which could create headline risk but does not change the announced deal. Brodsky & Smith investigation

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

CRNX stock traded up $41.51 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $83.53. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 62,605,951 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,765,221. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.51. Crinetics Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $25.83 and a 1 year high of $83.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.28 and a beta of 0.23.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($1.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.22) by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $10.73 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.51 million. Crinetics Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 2,747.18% and a negative return on equity of 43.96%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2873.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.04) earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Crinetics Pharmaceuticals will post -4.86 EPS 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.