Crinetics (CRNX): Robust Atumelnant CAH Data, De-Risked Phase 3, and Strong Execution Underpin Buy Rating

H.C. Wainwright analyst Douglas Tsao has reiterated their bullish stance on CRNX stock, giving a Buy rating today.

Douglas Tsao has given his Buy rating due to a combination of factors tied to Crinetics’s lead asset atumelnant and its recent clinical and financial performance. He highlights that new Phase 2 data in congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) show robust reductions in A4 levels while allowing most patients to step down to near-physiologic glucocorticoid doses, directly supporting the core treatment goals in CAH. The durability of A4 suppression over weeks 2–12, together with longer-term open-label extension data suggesting further hormonal improvement and potentially shrinking adrenal hyperplasia, reinforces the view that atumelnant may offer a differentiated, possibly disease-modifying profile. In addition, fourth-quarter revenue exceeded expectations, which he sees as validating commercial execution and helping to support the company’s ongoing development programs.

Tsao also emphasizes the favorable safety and tolerability signals emerging from both the Phase 2 trial and the open-label extension, with no serious adverse events or treatment-related discontinuations observed, and no recurring liver enzyme issues despite extended exposure in some patients. He notes that the few cases of glucocorticoid deficiency were tied to steroid tapering rather than the drug, which helps address prior investor concerns about safety risk. Importantly, he believes the Phase 3 CALM-CAH trial is meaningfully de-risked by the strength and consistency of the Phase 2 dataset, as well as by a Phase 3 design that allows more time for dose optimization and uses endpoints aligned with regulatory precedents. Taken together, these clinical, safety, and design elements, along with the company’s solid execution, underpin his confidence in atumelnant’s probability of success and justify maintaining a Buy rating and a premium price target for CRNX.

In another report released today, Evercore ISI also maintained a Buy rating on the stock with a $90.00 price target.