Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX) Hits New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Crinetics Pharmaceuticals shares hit a new 52-week high of $84, above the consensus analyst price target of $78.27. Despite the rally, the overall analyst rating is “Hold,” with six Buy, ten Hold, and one Sell rating.
• The company’s latest quarter showed revenue of $10.73 million, up 2,873.4% year over year and above estimates, but it narrowly missed EPS expectations and remains unprofitable. Analysts project a full-year loss of $4.86 per share.
• Institutional investors own a substantial 98.51% of the stock, while several major funds increased their positions. Two directors sold shares under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, reducing their holdings.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRNX - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $84.00 and last traded at $83.9130, with a volume of 2457159 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $83.73.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald downgraded shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from an "overweight" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. TD Cowen cut Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. HC Wainwright cut Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $81.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Citizens Jmp lowered Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $78.27.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $8.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.34 and a beta of 0.23. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $49.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.07.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm 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 business earned ($1.04) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -4.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Coelho Rogerio Vivaldi sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $120,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 19,225 shares in the company, valued at approximately $769,000. The trade was a 13.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 6,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $228,288. This trade represents a 51.88% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crinetics Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRNX. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,574,683 shares in the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its position in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 20.2% in the fourth quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 6,933,098 shares of the company's stock valued at $322,736,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163,000 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 1.8% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 8.8% in the third quarter. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP now owns 2,550,774 shares of the company's stock worth $106,240,000 after buying an additional 207,221 shares during the period. Finally, Siren L.L.C. grew its stake in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 26.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.51% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.