Aaron Freidin Sells 45,806 Shares of GRAIL (NASDAQ:GRAL) Stock

Key Points

• CFO Aaron Freidin sold 45,806 shares of GRAIL on April 8 at an average price of $49.92 for about $2.29M, cutting his stake by 14.95% to 260,669 shares (worth roughly $13.01M).
• GRAIL shares traded down to $47.56 midday (market cap ≈ $1.95B), showing high volatility (beta 4.62) with a 12‑month range of $21.80–$118.84 and 50/200‑day moving averages of $66.02/$79.75.
• The company reported Q4 EPS of -$2.44 (beating estimates) on $43.6M revenue; analysts are mixed but the consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average target of $72.83, while several large hedge funds have materially increased positions.

GRAIL, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRAL - Get Free Report) CFO Aaron Freidin sold 45,806 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.92, for a total value of $2,286,635.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 260,669 shares in the company, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Aaron Freidin also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, March 9th, Aaron Freidin sold 2,492 shares of GRAIL stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.89, for a total value of $119,341.88.
• On Thursday, March 5th, Aaron Freidin sold 655 shares of GRAIL stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.01, for a total value of $34,721.55.
• On Monday, March 2nd, Aaron Freidin sold 9,573 shares of GRAIL stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.17, for a total value of $480,277.41.

GRAIL Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GRAL traded down $3.22 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $47.56. 901,496 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,270,402. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.25 and a beta of 4.62. The business's 50-day moving average price is $66.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $79.75. GRAIL, Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.80 and a 12 month high of $118.84.

GRAIL (NASDAQ:GRAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported ($2.44) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($3.33) by $0.89. The company had revenue of $43.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $43.33 million. GRAIL had a negative return on equity of 17.11% and a negative net margin of 277.46%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that GRAIL, Inc. will post -15.15 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on GRAIL from $110.00 to $60.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. TD Cowen upgraded GRAIL from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on GRAIL from $130.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $82.00 price objective on GRAIL in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on GRAIL from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, GRAIL has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $72.83.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GRAIL

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of GRAIL by 73.7% during the fourth quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,342,684 shares of the company's stock worth $200,510,000 after acquiring an additional 993,684 shares during the last quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP raised its position in shares of GRAIL by 27.9% during the fourth quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 2,085,333 shares of the company's stock worth $178,484,000 after acquiring an additional 455,208 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of GRAIL by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,980,783 shares of the company's stock worth $169,535,000 after acquiring an additional 163,790 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of GRAIL by 38.8% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,827,523 shares of the company's stock worth $156,418,000 after acquiring an additional 510,546 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of GRAIL by 63.8% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,511,687 shares of the company's stock worth $129,385,000 after acquiring an additional 588,647 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.

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