Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Crinetics Pharmaceuticals' stock price surged from $35.89 to $41.07 after JMP Securities upgraded their price target from $86.00 to $143.00.
• Insider Dana Pizzuti sold 30,000 shares at an average price of $30.43, representing a 31.16% decrease in their holdings.
• The company reported a revenue increase of 158.4% year-over-year, totaling $1.03 million, although they missed EPS estimates with a reported ($1.23).

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRNX - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Friday after JMP Securities raised their price target on the stock from $86.00 to $143.00. The stock had previously closed at $35.89, but opened at $41.07. JMP Securities currently has a market outperform rating on the stock. Crinetics Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $45.95, with a volume of 4,274,965 shares traded.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on CRNX. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $81.00 target price on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Friday, June 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $36.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from $58.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Crinetics Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $70.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Crinetics Pharmaceuticals

In other Crinetics Pharmaceuticals news, insider Dana Pizzuti sold 30,000 shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.43, for a total value of $912,900.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 66,270 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,016,596.10. This trade represents a 31.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CRNX. Vestal Point Capital LP purchased a new stake in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals during the first quarter worth $50,310,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter worth $18,881,000. Candriam S.C.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in the first quarter valued at $16,398,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in the fourth quarter valued at $17,117,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 88.0% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 573,282 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,488,000 after acquiring an additional 268,356 shares in the last quarter. 98.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $31.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a PE ratio of -11.13 and a beta of 0.28.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($1.23) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.13) by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $1.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $0.52 million. The company's revenue was up 158.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.94) EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc, a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, and commercialization of novel therapeutics for rare endocrine diseases and endocrine-related tumors. The company's lead product candidate is paltusotine, an oral selective nonpeptide somatostatin receptor type 2 agonist, which is in Phase 3 trial for the treatment of acromegaly; and Phase 2 trial for treating carcinoid syndrome associated with neuroendocrine tumors.

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