Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX) Rating Lowered to "Hold" at Lifesci Capital

Key Points

• Lifesci Capital downgraded Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from “strong-buy” to “hold,” adding to a mixed analyst picture that now includes an overall average rating of “Hold.”
• The stock has surged sharply, opening at $83.53 and trading near its 52-week high of $83.63, while analysts’ average target price sits at $78.27.
• Crinetics recently reported a quarterly loss of ($1.23) per share but beat revenue expectations with $10.73 million in sales, while insiders also made recent stock sales under pre-arranged trading plans.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Lifesci Capital from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group began coverage on Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. JonesTrading reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market outperform" rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Crinetics Pharmaceuticals has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $78.27.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

NASDAQ:CRNX opened at $83.53 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $8.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.28 and a beta of 0.23. Crinetics Pharmaceuticals has a 1 year low of $25.83 and a 1 year high of $83.63. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $37.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.76.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($1.23) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.22) by ($0.01). The business 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2873.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted ($1.04) earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Crinetics Pharmaceuticals will post -4.86 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Coelho Rogerio Vivaldi sold 3,000 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 19,225 shares in the company, valued at $769,000. This represents a 13.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available 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 shares were 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 approximately $228,288. The trade was 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. Insiders own 3.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 59,311 shares of the company's stock worth $1,995,000 after buying an additional 6,148 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 6.9% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 347,581 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,658,000 after acquiring an additional 22,305 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at approximately $124,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 11.7% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 78,140 shares of the company's stock worth $2,247,000 after purchasing an additional 8,181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 20.6% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 60,180 shares of the company's stock worth $1,731,000 after purchasing an additional 10,269 shares during the last quarter. 98.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Crinetics Pharmaceuticals News

Here are the key news stories impacting Crinetics Pharmaceuticals this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Vertex announced a definitive agreement to buy Crinetics for $85 per share in cash, giving shareholders a large acquisition premium and driving the stock sharply higher.
• Positive Sentiment: The deal highlights Crinetics’ approved rare-disease drug PALSONIFY and late-stage pipeline candidate Atumelnant, which made the company attractive as a strategic asset.
• Positive Sentiment: Several brokerages raised or reaffirmed favorable price targets around the deal price, signaling that analysts see limited downside near the acquisition value.

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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