Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX) Hits New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX) hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $83.77 intraday and finishing near that level. The stock has surged well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Despite the rally, Wall Street sentiment is mixed: several firms recently downgraded the stock to Hold, and MarketBeat’s consensus rating is also Hold with a $78.27 price target.
• The company reported strong revenue growth in its latest quarter, with sales up 2,873% year over year, though EPS slightly missed estimates. Insider selling was also disclosed, while institutional ownership remains very high at 98.51%.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRNX - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $83.77 and last traded at $83.7330, with a volume of 1691147 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $83.67.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on CRNX. Oppenheimer restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. JonesTrading downgraded Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $85.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Piper Sandler lowered Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from an "overweight" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Crinetics Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $78.27.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.77. The company has a market cap of $8.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.32 and a beta of 0.23.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($1.23) 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 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%.The business's quarterly revenue 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. Research analysts anticipate that Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -4.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Crinetics Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Coelho Rogerio Vivaldi sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $120,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 19,225 shares in the company, valued at approximately $769,000. This represents a 13.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.67, for a total value of $246,123.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 6,400 shares in the company, valued at $228,288. This trade represents a 51.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 3.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Crinetics Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRNX. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 44.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,381,991 shares of the company's stock valued at $349,110,000 after buying an additional 2,574,683 shares during the last quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP boosted its stake in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 488.9% in the fourth quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 1,648,869 shares of the company's stock valued at $76,755,000 after acquiring an additional 1,368,869 shares in the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 20.2% during the fourth 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 last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 279.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,258,722 shares of the company's stock worth $52,426,000 after purchasing an additional 926,765 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ADAR1 Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 268.3% during the first quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC now owns 1,139,331 shares of the company's stock worth $41,381,000 after purchasing an additional 829,963 shares during the last quarter. 98.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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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