Short Interest in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRNX) Grows By 6.3%

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRNX) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,220,000 shares, an increase of 6.3% from the March 31st total of 4,910,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 802,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.5 days.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 2.8 %

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $45.05 on Thursday. Crinetics Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $15.76 and a 52 week high of $49.58. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.04.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The company reported ($0.90) earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Crinetics Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was down 100.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.84) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Crinetics Pharmaceuticals will post -3.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Crinetics Pharmaceuticals

In other news, Director Stephanie Okey sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.38, for a total transaction of $811,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,000 shares in the company, valued at $278,280. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Stephanie Okey sold 17,500 shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.38, for a total value of $811,650.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $278,280. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Marc Wilson sold 6,942 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.91, for a total transaction of $297,881.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 110,630 shares in the company, valued at $4,747,133.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 187,216 shares of company stock worth $8,509,397 in the last 90 days. 7.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,640,235 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,261,000 after purchasing an additional 38,523 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,502,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,617,000 after buying an additional 95,417 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 77.7% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,547,683 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,647,000 after acquiring an additional 1,113,992 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 97.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,140,861 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,669,000 after acquiring an additional 1,057,947 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Light Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 25.5% in the 4th quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 1,987,772 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,725,000 after acquiring an additional 404,443 shares during the period. 98.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on CRNX shares. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. Citigroup started coverage on Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Jonestrading raised their target price on Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.00.

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.