Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX) Shares Down 14.9% on Disappointing Earnings

Key Points

• Shares fell 14.9% after Crinetics reported quarterly EPS of ($1.23), missing the consensus by $0.01, even as revenue beat expectations at $10.73M (up 2,873% year‑over‑year) and the company showed very large negative margins.
• Insiders have been net sellers recently — including Jeff E. Knight's sale of 85,163 shares — with 142,380 insider shares sold over the last three months (insiders own 4.6% of the stock).
• Institutional ownership is very high at 98.51%, several large funds materially increased stakes, and analysts maintain a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $76.75.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRNX - Get Free Report) dropped 14.9% during trading on Friday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as low as $37.65 and last traded at $36.9980. Approximately 450,901 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 1,224,386 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.49.

The company reported ($1.23) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.22) by ($0.01). Crinetics Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 6,046.22% and a negative return on equity of 41.46%. The firm had revenue of $10.73 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.51 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($1.04) earnings per share. Crinetics Pharmaceuticals's quarterly revenue was up 2873.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CRNX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Lifesci Capital raised Crinetics Pharmaceuticals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Citizens Jmp increased their price target on Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $67.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, April 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $76.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jeff E. Knight sold 85,163 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.10, for a total value of $3,415,036.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 105,289 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,222,088.90. This trade represents a 44.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Coelho Rogerio Vivaldi sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.15, for a total value of $180,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 16,300 shares of the company's stock, valued at $589,245. The trade was a 23.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 142,380 shares of company stock worth $5,569,475. 4.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crinetics Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake 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 worth $349,110,000 after acquiring an additional 2,574,683 shares during the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,163,000 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,440,691 shares of the company's stock worth $206,604,000 after acquiring an additional 581,900 shares during the last quarter. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP now owns 2,550,774 shares of the company's stock worth $106,240,000 after acquiring an additional 207,221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 20.8% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 1,884,281 shares of the company's stock worth $68,204,000 after acquiring an additional 323,981 shares during the last quarter. 98.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 12.5%

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -7.74 and a beta of 0.28. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $38.41 and a 200-day moving average of $43.89.

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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