Jennison Associates LLC Sells 763,133 Shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $CRNX

Key Points

• Jennison Associates cut its stake in Crinetics by 37.3% in Q4, selling 763,133 shares and retaining 1,281,601 shares (≈1.35% of the company) valued at about $59.66 million.
• Company insiders sold 142,380 shares worth roughly $5.57 million over the last quarter — including CEO Richard Struthers (21,981 shares) and Stephen F. Betz (10,612) — leaving insiders with 4.6% ownership.
• Analysts are mixed but overall rate CRNX a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $76.75, while the stock trades near $38.78 and the company remains unprofitable despite beating recent EPS and revenue estimates.

Jennison Associates LLC reduced its position in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRNX - Free Report) by 37.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,281,601 shares of the company's stock after selling 763,133 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 1.35% of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals worth $59,659,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of CRNX. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 523.7% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 842 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 707 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in the second quarter worth $45,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 23,983.3% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,445 shares of the company's stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 1,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in the third quarter worth $68,000. 98.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRNX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, April 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $67.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, January 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Lifesci Capital raised shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $76.75.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.9%

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $38.78 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.85 and a beta of 0.30. The firm's fifty day moving average is $38.52 and its 200 day moving average is $43.91. Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 52-week low of $25.83 and a 52-week high of $57.99.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($1.29) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.37) by $0.08. The company had revenue of $6.16 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.32 million. Crinetics Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 6,046.22% and a negative return on equity of 41.46%. Crinetics Pharmaceuticals's revenue was up NaN% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.88) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -4.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Crinetics Pharmaceuticals

In related news, insider Stephen F. Betz sold 10,612 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.37, for a total transaction of $396,570.44. Following the sale, the insider owned 137,101 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,123,464.37. This represents a 7.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Richard Scott Struthers sold 21,981 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.37, for a total transaction of $821,429.97. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 404,778 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,126,553.86. The trade was a 5.15% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 142,380 shares of company stock valued at $5,569,475 over the last quarter. 4.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals 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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