UBS Group Begins Coverage on Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX)

Stock analysts at UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX) in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group’s price objective points to a potential upside of 42.19% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, May 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Citizens Jmp reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a report on Thursday, June 11th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $81.00 price objective on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from $87.00 to $84.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.78.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals Trading Up 3.4%

Shares of NASDAQ CRNX opened at $38.68 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.08 billion, a PE ratio of -7.54 and a beta of 0.23. Crinetics Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $25.83 and a twelve month high of $57.99. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.66.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported ($1.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.22) by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $10.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.51 million. Crinetics Pharmaceuticals had a negative return on equity of 43.96% and a negative net margin of 2,747.18%.Crinetics Pharmaceuticals’s revenue was up 2873.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($1.04) EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Crinetics Pharmaceuticals will post -4.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Crinetics Pharmaceuticals

In other news, insider Jeff E. Knight sold 85,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.10, for a total transaction of $3,415,036.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 105,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,222,088.90. The trade was a 44.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Stephanie Okey sold 6,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.67, for a total transaction of $246,123.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 6,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $228,288. The trade was a 51.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 3.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Crinetics Pharmaceuticals

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 44.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,381,991 shares of the company’s stock worth $349,110,000 after purchasing an additional 2,574,683 shares in the last quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 488.9% in the 4th quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 1,648,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,755,000 after purchasing an additional 1,368,869 shares during the period. Farallon Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 20.2% in the 4th quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 6,933,098 shares of the company’s stock valued at $322,736,000 after purchasing an additional 1,163,000 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 279.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,258,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,426,000 after buying an additional 926,765 shares during the period. Finally, ADAR1 Capital Management LLC increased its position in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals by 268.3% during the first quarter. ADAR1 Capital Management LLC now owns 1,139,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,381,000 after buying an additional 829,963 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.51% of the company’s stock.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

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.