Short Interest in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRNX) Increases By 11.0%

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRNX) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 6,780,000 shares, a growth of 11.0% from the September 15th total of 6,110,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 655,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 10.3 days.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

CRNX stock traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $58.78. 485,310 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 797,884. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $52.33 and its 200 day moving average is $49.23. Crinetics Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $25.75 and a 12-month high of $59.68. The company has a market cap of $4.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -15.54 and a beta of 0.63.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX) last announced its 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 firm had revenue of $0.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.47 million. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 59.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.94) EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Crinetics Pharmaceuticals will post -3.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Crinetics Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CFO Marc Wilson sold 19,056 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.88, for a total transaction of $1,026,737.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 111,092 shares in the company, valued at $5,985,636.96. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Stephen F. Betz sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.19, for a total transaction of $159,570.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 69,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,702,609.09. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Marc Wilson sold 19,056 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.88, for a total value of $1,026,737.28. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 111,092 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,985,636.96. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 65,466 shares of company stock valued at $3,462,956 over the last 90 days. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its stake in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 15.3% in the 4th quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 40,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,445,000 after buying an additional 5,386 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 650,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,133,000 after buying an additional 97,575 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 719.3% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 441,295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,701,000 after purchasing an additional 387,435 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,502,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,617,000 after acquiring an additional 95,417 shares in the last quarter. 98.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on CRNX. HC Wainwright lifted their price target on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $73.00 target price (down previously from $74.00) on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $97.00 target price on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.55.

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.