Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRNX) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRNX - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,010,000 shares, an increase of 5.7% from the February 29th total of 4,740,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 745,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.7 days.

Insider Activity

In other Crinetics Pharmaceuticals news, Director Matthew K. Fust sold 60,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.14, for a total value of $2,648,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,536 shares in the company, valued at $818,179.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Crinetics Pharmaceuticals news, insider Stephen F. Betz sold 3,000 shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.65, for a total value of $112,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,298 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,872,619.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Matthew K. Fust sold 60,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.14, for a total transaction of $2,648,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,536 shares of the company's stock, valued at $818,179.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 152,265 shares of company stock worth $6,584,435. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Crinetics Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 109.9% in the first quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,927 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,009 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 98.2% in the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,403 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 695 shares during the period. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 382.4% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 2,412 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 1,912 shares during the period. Finally, AJOVista LLC purchased a new position in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth about $58,000. Institutional investors own 98.51% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $80.00 price objective on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, March 28th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set a "buy" rating and a $68.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, December 21st. They set a "hold" rating and a $35.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Crinetics Pharmaceuticals has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $54.17.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

Shares of CRNX traded down $0.53 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $46.00. The stock had a trading volume of 858,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 767,048. The business has a fifty day moving average of $40.19 and a 200 day moving average of $34.57. Crinetics Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $15.50 and a 12 month high of $47.62. The firm has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.43 and a beta of 0.63.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.90) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.89) by ($0.01). Crinetics Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 52.93% and a negative net margin of 4,223.27%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.84) EPS. Crinetics Pharmaceuticals's quarterly revenue was down 100.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Crinetics Pharmaceuticals will post -3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Crinetics Pharmaceuticals

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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