CRNX Stock Soars Nearly 100% After-Hours On Vertex's $10B Acquisition

• Vertex said the acquisition will strengthen its pipeline and could eventually add around $5 billion in annual revenue.
• Crinetics focuses on developing treatments for endocrine diseases. 
• Vertex will finance the deal using a combination of cash on hand and debt.

Shares of Crinetics Pharmaceuticals (CRNX) surged nearly 100% in after-hours trading on Monday after Vertex Pharmaceuticals (VRTX) announced it will buy the company for about $10 billion.

The deal values Crinetics at $85 per share in cash, representing a potential upside of about 100% from the stock’s closing price on Monday. Vertex said the acquisition will strengthen its pipeline and could eventually add around $5 billion in annual revenue. The deal is expected to close later this year, in the third quarter, subject to regulatory approvals and other conditions.

VRTX stock was down 2% after-hours at the time of writing.

Why The Deal?

Crinetics focuses on developing treatments for endocrine diseases — conditions related to hormones and glands. Its main product, PALSONIFY (paltusotine), treats acromegaly, a rare disorder that causes excessive growth.

The company has additional drugs in its pipeline targeting other hormone-related conditions, such as congenital adrenal hyperplasia. Vertex, best known for its successful cystic fibrosis medicines, has been looking to expand beyond that area. The company said the move supports its goal of delivering innovative treatments across multiple diseases and added that it expects the deal to be accretive to adjusted operating income in 2029.

Vertex will finance the deal using a combination of cash on hand and debt. The deal is one of the largest this year in the biotech sector, in the league of Sun Pharma's acquisition of Organon and AbbVie's acquisition of Apogee Therapeutics.

How Did Retail Traders React?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around CRNX jumped from ‘bearish’ to ‘bullish’ over the past 24 hours, while message volume rose from ‘high’ to ‘extremely high’ levels.

Meanwhile, sentiment around VRTX  stayed within the ‘extremely bullish’ territory over the past day, while message volume was at ‘high’ levels.

A Stocktwits user highlighted the bullishness across the biotech sector.

Another user termed the 100% premium as “insane” and voiced hopes for a similar buyout for Biocryst Pharmaceuticals.

A third user opined that the deal was unexpected.

While VRTX stock has gained 17% year-to-date, CRNX shares have fallen 10%. State Street SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) has risen 32% in the meantime. 

Read More: RIVN Stock Drops After-Hours On Potential $1.5B Offering Despite Upbeat Q2 Guidance

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