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

Key Points

• Short interest fell 55.1% to 6.21 million shares as of July 15, from 13.85 million shares on June 30. Short interest now represents approximately 6.1% of shares outstanding, with a days-to-cover ratio of 0.5.
• CRNX shares traded near their 52-week high at $83.91, up sharply from a 52-week low of $25.83. Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $81.00, while several firms recently downgraded the stock.
• Institutional investors own 98.51% of the company, with major holders including Wellington Management and Farallon Capital increasing their positions. Crinetics reported $10.73 million in quarterly revenue, up 2,873.4% year over year, but posted a loss of $1.23 per share.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRNX - Get Free Report) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 6,212,042 shares, a decrease of 55.1% from the June 30th total of 13,845,220 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 13,437,117 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.5 days. Approximately 6.1% of the company's stock are sold short.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CRNX traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $83.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 602,530 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,292,847. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $50.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.36 and a beta of 0.23. Crinetics Pharmaceuticals has a fifty-two week low of $25.83 and a fifty-two week high of $84.00.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CRNX. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $85.00 price target (up from $55.00) on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Lifesci Capital lowered Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Citizens Jmp cut Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $81.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Crinetics Pharmaceuticals news, Director Stephanie Okey sold 6,900 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at $228,288. This represents a 51.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Coelho Rogerio Vivaldi sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $120,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 19,225 shares in the company, valued at $769,000. The trade was a 13.50% 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. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crinetics Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 44.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,381,991 shares of the company's stock valued at $349,110,000 after purchasing an additional 2,574,683 shares during the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 20.2% during the 4th quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 6,933,098 shares of the company's stock worth $322,736,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163,000 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,520,251 shares of the company's stock worth $164,227,000 after purchasing an additional 79,560 shares during the period. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 8.8% during the third quarter. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP now owns 2,550,774 shares of the company's stock valued at $106,240,000 after buying an additional 207,221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Siren L.L.C. raised its position in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 26.3% during the first quarter. Siren L.L.C. now owns 1,903,636 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,140,000 after buying an additional 396,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.51% of the company's stock.

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.

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