Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX) Sees Large Volume Increase - What's Next?

Key Points

• Trading volume surged 258% to 8.33 million shares, while Crinetics stock was nearly unchanged at $84.71.
• Analyst sentiment has shifted toward caution: several firms downgraded the stock to “Hold,” leaving it with an overall average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $81.
• Crinetics beat quarterly revenue and EPS estimates, reporting $25.12 million in revenue and an EPS loss of $1.14; however, the company remains unprofitable, with analysts expecting a full-year EPS loss of $4.83.

Shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRNX - Get Free Report) saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday . 8,334,161 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 258% from the previous session's volume of 2,328,045 shares.The stock last traded at $84.71 and had previously closed at $84.69.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $55.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Lifesci Capital downgraded shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from an "overweight" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from $62.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $81.00.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $8.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.81 and a beta of 0.12. The company's 50-day moving average is $67.02 and its 200-day moving average is $48.93.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported ($1.14) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.18) by $0.04. Crinetics Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 1,189.88% and a negative return on equity of 44.22%. The company had revenue of $25.12 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.84 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.23) earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 2336.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -4.83 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Crinetics Pharmaceuticals 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 transaction, the director owned 19,225 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $769,000. This represents a 13.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.67, for a total value of $246,123.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,400 shares in the company, valued at $228,288. The trade was a 51.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Company insiders own 3.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crinetics Pharmaceuticals

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 107.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 639 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 34.6% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,225 shares of the company's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Arax Advisory Partners raised its holdings in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 131.2% during the 4th quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 1,498 shares of the company's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals during the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. Institutional investors 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.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source