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

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRNX) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of 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 volume of 776,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 8.9 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Crinetics Pharmaceuticals news, COO Jeff E. Knight sold 501 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.52, for a total value of $28,316.52. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 51,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,919,427.56. This trade represents a 0.96 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crinetics Pharmaceuticals

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 3.3% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 7,126 shares of the company’s stock worth $319,000 after acquiring an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 11,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $587,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 22.8% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,193 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank increased its stake in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 20.8% in the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 20,633 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,054,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. 98.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 2.4 %

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals stock traded up $0.87 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $37.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 761,824 shares, compared to its average volume of 630,193. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $52.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.99. Crinetics Pharmaceuticals has a 12 month low of $35.24 and a 12 month high of $62.53. The company has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a PE ratio of -10.01 and a beta of 0.60.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 previous year, the company posted ($1.01) EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Crinetics Pharmaceuticals will post -3.73 EPS for the current 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.