GRAIL (NASDAQ:GRAL) Trading 10.3% Higher – Here’s What Happened

GRAIL, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRAL) shot up 10.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $79.76 and last traded at $81.59. 431,117 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 53% from the average daily volume of 926,598 shares. The stock had previously closed at $73.96.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on GRAL shares. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of GRAIL in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on GRAIL from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of GRAIL in a report on Friday, July 17th. Mizuho raised their price objective on GRAIL from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of GRAIL from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.78.

GRAIL Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $68.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.38. The company has a market cap of $3.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.17 and a beta of 3.24.

GRAIL (NASDAQ:GRAL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($2.56) EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.39 million. Research analysts predict that GRAIL, Inc. will post -10.41 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at GRAIL

In related news, insider Andrew John Partridge sold 1,491 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.08, for a total transaction of $91,070.28. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 163,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,001,117.04. This represents a 0.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.83% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of GRAIL by 17.7% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 88,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,250,000 after buying an additional 13,264 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in GRAIL by 28.2% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 623 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in GRAIL by 390.3% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,401 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in GRAIL by 37.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 92,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,362,000 after purchasing an additional 25,177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of GRAIL by 115.7% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 79,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,090,000 after purchasing an additional 42,675 shares during the last quarter.

About GRAIL

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.