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

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRNX) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,920,000 shares, an increase of 10.7% from the December 15th total of 6,250,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 776,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 8.9 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on CRNX. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $81.00 price target on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup upped their price target on Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and issued a $87.00 price objective on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a report on Monday, December 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $74.40.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of CRNX stock traded up $0.87 on Monday, reaching $37.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 761,824 shares, compared to its average volume of 630,193. The company has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.01 and a beta of 0.60. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $52.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.05. Crinetics Pharmaceuticals has a 12-month low of $35.24 and a 12-month high of $62.53.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported ($0.96) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.91) by ($0.05). During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.01) earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Crinetics Pharmaceuticals will post -3.73 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Jeff E. Knight sold 501 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.52, for a total value of $28,316.52. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 51,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,919,427.56. The trade was a 0.96 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 75.5% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 207,712 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,614,000 after acquiring an additional 89,358 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 61.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,390,110 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,815,000 after purchasing an additional 528,688 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 17.0% in the second quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 6,112,173 shares of the company’s stock worth $273,764,000 after acquiring an additional 885,876 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 10.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,848,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,458,000 after buying an additional 169,746 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 2,793,614 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,754,000 after acquiring an additional 13,470 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.51% of the company’s stock.

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.