UBS Group AG Boosts Position in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. $CRNX

Key Points

• UBS Group AG boosted its stake in Crinetics by 122.7% in Q4, owning 908,192 shares (0.96% of the company) valued at about $42.3 million, reflecting significant institutional buying.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but tilted positive: the consensus grade is a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $76.75, while recent moves include Goldman Sachs upgrading to Buy ($67 PT) and a few firms issuing sell downgrades.
• Company insiders have been sellers recently—CEO and CFO sold stakes (21,981 and 6,713 shares respectively) and insiders disposed of 142,380 shares worth $5.57 million over 90 days, though insiders still own 4.6% and institutions hold 98.51% of shares.

UBS Group AG grew its holdings in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRNX - Free Report) by 122.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 908,192 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 500,470 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned 0.96% of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals worth $42,276,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings 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 valued at $349,110,000 after acquiring an additional 2,574,683 shares in the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 24.2% in the 3rd quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 5,770,098 shares of the company's stock valued at $240,325,000 after purchasing an additional 1,124,000 shares in the last quarter. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP raised its position in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 8.8% in the third quarter. Paradigm Biocapital Advisors LP now owns 2,550,774 shares of the company's stock valued at $106,240,000 after purchasing an additional 207,221 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 279.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,258,722 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,426,000 after purchasing an additional 926,765 shares during the period. Finally, Orbimed Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% during the second quarter. Orbimed Advisors LLC now owns 1,149,000 shares of the company's stock worth $33,045,000 after purchasing an additional 150,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 98.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, April 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $67.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, January 12th. Citizens Jmp increased their price objective on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Lifesci Capital upgraded shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $76.75.

Insider Activity at Crinetics Pharmaceuticals

In other Crinetics Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Richard Scott Struthers sold 21,981 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.37, for a total value of $821,429.97. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 404,778 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,126,553.86. This represents a 5.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Tobin Schilke sold 6,713 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.67, for a total value of $266,304.71. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 78,121 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,099,060.07. This trade represents a 7.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 142,380 shares of company stock worth $5,569,475 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 4.60% of the company's stock.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals Price Performance

Shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $41.71 on Thursday. Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has a 1-year low of $25.83 and a 1-year high of $57.99. The company has a market capitalization of $4.40 billion, a PE ratio of -8.44 and a beta of 0.28. The business has a 50-day moving average of $38.42 and a 200-day moving average of $43.88.

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

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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