GRAIL (NASDAQ:GRAL) Trading 9.7% Higher – Here’s What Happened

by · The Markets Daily

GRAIL, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRALGet Free Report) shares traded up 9.7% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $66.86 and last traded at $67.0850. 149,536 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 1,061,188 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.13.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on GRAIL in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Guggenheim reduced their price target on GRAIL from $130.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of GRAIL in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird set a $70.00 price target on GRAIL in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on GRAIL from $110.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.88.

Read Our Latest Analysis on GRAIL

GRAIL Stock Up 11.0%

The company has a market cap of $2.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.47 and a beta of 3.15. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $75.69.

GRAIL (NASDAQ:GRALGet Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($2.29) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($2.76) by $0.47. The company had revenue of $40.79 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.16 million. GRAIL had a negative return on equity of 16.42% and a negative net margin of 253.22%. On average, research analysts predict that GRAIL, Inc. will post -10.99 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other GRAIL news, CFO Aaron Freidin sold 45,806 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.92, for a total transaction of $2,286,635.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 260,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,012,596.48. This trade represents a 14.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Joshua J. Ofman sold 61,665 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.92, for a total value of $3,078,316.80. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 371,216 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,531,102.72. The trade was a 14.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 243,863 shares of company stock valued at $12,147,474. Corporate insiders own 1.83% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GRAIL

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. WIM INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Ltd increased its position in GRAIL by 200.0% during the third quarter. WIM INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 63,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,725,000 after buying an additional 42,000 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of GRAIL by 159.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 206,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,188,000 after purchasing an additional 126,576 shares during the period. Farallon Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of GRAIL by 168.7% in the third quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,349,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,766,000 after purchasing an additional 847,000 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of GRAIL in the third quarter valued at $1,749,000. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc grew its position in shares of GRAIL by 28.2% in the third quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 269,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,932,000 after purchasing an additional 59,323 shares during the period.

About GRAIL

(Get Free Report)

GRAIL, Inc (NASDAQ: GRAL) is a biotechnology company dedicated to the early detection of cancer through a multi-cancer blood test. Leveraging advances in next-generation sequencing, cell-free DNA (cfDNA) analysis and machine learning, GRAIL has developed the Galleri™ test, which aims to identify more than 50 types of cancer at their earliest stages. The company’s platform analyzes methylation patterns in circulating tumor DNA to pinpoint tumor presence and tissue of origin, enabling physicians to pursue timely diagnostic follow-up.

Founded in 2016 as a spin-out from Illumina, GRAIL established its headquarters in Menlo Park, California, with additional research and operations centers in the United Kingdom.

Read More