Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX) Sets New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Crinetics Pharmaceuticals reached a new 52-week high of approximately $84.97, giving the company a market capitalization of $9.01 billion and placing its share price well above its 50- and 200-day moving averages.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: five analysts rate the stock Buy, 11 rate it Hold and one rates it Sell. The average rating is Hold, with a consensus price target of $81, below the recent trading price.
• Crinetics beat quarterly expectations, reporting an adjusted loss of $1.14 per share versus the expected $1.18 loss and revenue of $25.12 million, up 2,336.9% year over year. However, the company remains unprofitable, while two directors recently sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRNX - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $84.95 and last traded at $84.9660, with a volume of 6704 shares. The stock had previously closed at $84.84.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on CRNX shares. TD Cowen downgraded shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Lifesci Capital cut shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Citizens Jmp downgraded shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $85.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from $62.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Crinetics Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $81.00.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.2%

The company has a market cap of $9.01 billion, a PE ratio of -16.86 and a beta of 0.12. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.76.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The company reported ($1.14) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.18) by $0.04. Crinetics Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 1,189.88% and a negative return on equity of 44.22%. The business had revenue of $25.12 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.84 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.23) earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2336.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -4.83 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Crinetics Pharmaceuticals news, Director Stephanie Okey sold 6,900 shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.67, for a total value of $246,123.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 6,400 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $228,288. The trade was a 51.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Coelho Rogerio Vivaldi sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $120,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 19,225 shares in the company, valued at approximately $769,000. The trade was a 13.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 3.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CRNX. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 107.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 639 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals during the second quarter worth about $45,000. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 34.6% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,225 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arax Advisory Partners increased its holdings in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 131.2% during the fourth quarter. Arax Advisory Partners now owns 1,498 shares of the company's stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 850 shares in the last quarter. 98.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Crinetics Pharmaceuticals

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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