Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX) Shares Down 3.5% on Insider Selling

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:CRNX)’s stock price was down 3.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $43.24 and last traded at $43.28. Approximately 51,907 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 94% from the average daily volume of 808,579 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.87.

Specifically, CEO Richard Scott Struthers sold 40,951 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.17, for a total transaction of $2,013,560.67. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 237,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,694,346.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Crinetics Pharmaceuticals news, insider Stephen F. Betz sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.43, for a total value of $148,290.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 89,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,431,053.49. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Richard Scott Struthers sold 40,951 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.17, for a total transaction of $2,013,560.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 237,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,694,346.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 196,274 shares of company stock worth $9,487,423 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on CRNX shares. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from $55.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from $50.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. Jonestrading lifted their price target on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals from $52.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.50.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $46.31 and its 200-day moving average is $41.84. The firm has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.16 and a beta of 0.64.

Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:CRNX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The company reported ($0.93) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.84) by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $0.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.20 million. Crinetics Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 4,223.27% and a negative return on equity of 42.50%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 76.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.85) EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Crinetics Pharmaceuticals, Inc. will post -3.53 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Comerica Bank bought a new position in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. AJOVista LLC bought a new position in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $58,000. HighMark Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in the 4th quarter worth $151,000. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Crinetics Pharmaceuticals in the 1st quarter worth $200,000. 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.