GRAIL (NASDAQ:GRAL) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Shares of GRAIL, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRAL) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday. The stock had previously closed at $143.66, but opened at $119.50. GRAIL shares last traded at $127.3850, with a volume of 234,323 shares changing hands.

GRAIL News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting GRAIL this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA advisory committee voted in favor of approval of GRAIL’s Galleri multi-cancer early-detection test. The FDA decision is still pending, with an expected decision in early 2027. GRAIL Q3 results
• Positive Sentiment: Galleri test volume increased about 24% year over year to more than 56,000 in Q3, while revenue grew 14% to $37.3 million. GRAIL Q3 results
• Positive Sentiment: GRAIL’s quarterly loss of $2.21 per share was narrower than analysts’ expected loss of $2.45. GRAIL earnings results
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue of about $37.5 million fell short of the roughly $44.2 million analyst consensus. The miss raises concerns about the pace of commercial adoption, even as test volumes grow. GRAIL misses sales expectations
• Negative Sentiment: GRAIL is reducing Galleri prices to encourage adoption ahead of the FDA decision. The lower pricing may support test demand, but could weigh on revenue growth and margins. GRAIL earnings call pricing outlook

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on GRAL shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of GRAIL from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of GRAIL from $80.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of GRAIL in a research note on Thursday, September 17th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $84.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen raised their price target on GRAIL from $88.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on GRAIL from $105.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, GRAIL presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $119.80.

GRAIL Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $115.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.12. The company has a market cap of $5.33 billion, a PE ratio of -12.24 and a beta of 2.86.

GRAIL (NASDAQ:GRAL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported ($2.21) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.45) by $0.24. The business had revenue of $37.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.21 million. GRAIL had a negative return on equity of 15.88% and a negative net margin of 236.95%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that GRAIL, Inc. will post -10.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other GRAIL news, CEO Joshua J. Ofman sold 61,452 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.74, for a total transaction of $6,006,318.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 362,271 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,408,367.54. The trade was a 14.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Andrew Partridge sold 7,873 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.39, for a total transaction of $1,152,528.47. Following the sale, the insider owned 155,865 shares in the company, valued at $22,817,077.35. The trade was a 4.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 129,944 shares of company stock valued at $14,832,805 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of GRAIL

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in GRAIL by 20.5% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,577,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,207,000 after buying an additional 608,539 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of GRAIL by 26.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,385,514 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,859,000 after acquiring an additional 493,621 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA purchased a new stake in shares of GRAIL during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $148,836,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of GRAIL by 29.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 914,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,241,000 after acquiring an additional 205,611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of GRAIL by 88.5% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 408,650 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,104,000 after acquiring an additional 191,857 shares in the last quarter.

GRAIL Company Profile

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.