Crinetics Pharmaceuticals Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:CRNX)

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRNX) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 4,426 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 4,036% compared to the typical daily volume of 107 put options.

Insider Activity at Crinetics Pharmaceuticals

In related news, Director Stephanie Okey sold 6,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.67, for a total transaction of $246,123.00. Following the sale, the director owned 6,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $228,288. This represents a 51.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jeff E. Knight sold 85,163 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.10, for a total value of $3,415,036.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 105,289 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,222,088.90. This represents a 44.72% 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 Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Parkman Healthcare Partners LLC now owns 73,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,071,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased 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 worth $57,000 after buying an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 107.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 639 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 5,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,000 after acquiring an additional 348 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commerce Bank raised its holdings in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 8,019 shares of the company’s stock valued at $373,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares during the last quarter. 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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRNX has been the topic of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, April 20th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from $62.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $76.78.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 98.8%

CRNX traded up $41.52 on Tuesday, reaching $83.55. 61,649,825 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,738,116. Crinetics Pharmaceuticals has a one year low of $25.83 and a one year high of $83.59. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.51. The company has a market cap of $8.81 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.29 and a beta of 0.23.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($1.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.22) by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $10.73 million during 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%. Crinetics Pharmaceuticals’s quarterly revenue was up 2873.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($1.04) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Crinetics Pharmaceuticals will post -4.86 earnings per share for the current 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.