GRAIL (NASDAQ:GRAL) Trading 7.6% Higher – Here’s Why

GRAIL, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRAL)’s stock price was up 7.6% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $75.75 and last traded at $74.7330. 225,291 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 934,800 shares. The stock had previously closed at $69.48.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on GRAL shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of GRAIL in a report on Friday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird set a $70.00 target price on GRAIL in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on GRAIL in a research report on Friday, June 5th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. Mizuho upped their price target on GRAIL from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on GRAIL in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.78.

GRAIL Price Performance

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $65.92. The stock has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.74 and a beta of 3.24.

GRAIL (NASDAQ:GRAL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($2.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($2.66) by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $44.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $42.39 million. GRAIL had a negative net margin of 236.95% and a negative return on equity of 15.88%. On average, analysts forecast that GRAIL, Inc. will post -10.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other GRAIL news, insider Andrew John Partridge sold 1,491 shares of GRAIL stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.08, for a total transaction of $91,070.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 163,738 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,001,117.04. The trade was a 0.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of GRAIL

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in GRAIL by 15,733.3% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 475 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in GRAIL during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Comerica Bank boosted its holdings in GRAIL by 59.2% during the 3rd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 465 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of GRAIL in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of GRAIL by 160.0% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 585 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares in 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.