Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Saturday morning.

CRNX has been the topic of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $67.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Citizens Jmp reduced their price target on Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from $105.00 to $96.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Lifesci Capital raised Crinetics Pharmaceuticals to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Crinetics Pharmaceuticals currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $76.63.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals Trading Down 7.3%

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals stock opened at $33.67 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $43.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.97. Crinetics Pharmaceuticals has a 52 week low of $24.10 and a 52 week high of $57.99. The stock has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a PE ratio of -6.82 and a beta of 0.23.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($1.29) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.37) by $0.08. Crinetics Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 6,046.22% and a negative return on equity of 41.46%. The company had revenue of $6.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.32 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.88) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up NaN% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Crinetics Pharmaceuticals will post -3.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Crinetics Pharmaceuticals

In related news, CEO Richard Scott Struthers sold 21,981 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.37, for a total transaction of $821,429.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 404,778 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,126,553.86. This represents a 5.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jeff E. Knight sold 9,911 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.37, for a total transaction of $370,374.07. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 112,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,186,112.66. This represents a 8.13% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 59,717 shares of company stock valued at $2,291,939 in the last quarter. Insiders own 4.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CRNX. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 107.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 639 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 523.7% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 842 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 707 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 34.6% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,225 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. 98.51% of the stock is 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.