GRAIL (NASDAQ:GRAL) Shares Up 7% – What’s Next?

GRAIL, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRAL)’s stock price traded up 7% during trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $133.36 and last traded at $133.4040. 250,273 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 970,710 shares. The stock had previously closed at $124.67.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on GRAL shares. Wall Street Zen raised GRAIL from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 13th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on GRAIL from $75.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on GRAIL from $96.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Mizuho raised their price objective on GRAIL from $65.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on GRAIL in a research report on Thursday, September 17th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $84.00 price objective on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $119.80.

GRAIL Price Performance

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $100.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a PE ratio of -13.70 and a beta of 2.83.

GRAIL (NASDAQ:GRAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($2.56) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.66) by $0.10. GRAIL had a negative return on equity of 15.88% and a negative net margin of 236.95%. The firm had revenue of $44.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.39 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that GRAIL, Inc. will post -10.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at GRAIL

In other news, CEO Joshua J. Ofman sold 61,452 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.74, for a total value of $6,006,318.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 362,271 shares in the company, valued at $35,408,367.54. This represents a 14.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Aaron Freidin sold 23,619 shares of GRAIL stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.39, for a total value of $3,457,585.41. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 225,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,991,035.96. The trade was a 9.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 129,944 shares of company stock worth $14,832,805. 1.83% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GRAIL

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its stake in GRAIL by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 13,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,889,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC increased its holdings in GRAIL by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 3,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $201,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in GRAIL by 30.3% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $178,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in GRAIL during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in GRAIL by 160.0% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 585 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the period.

About GRAIL

GRAIL, Inc (NASDAQ: GRAL) is a healthcare company focused on developing blood-based screening technologies for the early detection of cancer. Its principal product is Galleri, a multi-cancer early detection test designed to identify DNA patterns associated with multiple types of cancer from a single blood sample.

Galleri is intended for use alongside recommended cancer screenings and is available by prescription through qualified healthcare providers in the United States. The test is offered as a laboratory-developed test and has not been approved or cleared by the U.S.