GRAIL (NASDAQ:GRAL) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Robert W. Baird Analyst Says

Key Points

• Robert W. Baird raised GRAIL’s price target to $118 from $96 and maintained an “outperform” rating, implying approximately 9.3% upside from the reported price.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: five analysts rate the stock a Buy, six a Hold and one a Sell, producing a consensus “Hold” rating and a substantially lower average target of $75.10.
• GRAIL’s stock has surged on expectations that FDA staff found no major concerns with its Galleri cancer-detection test, but the upcoming advisory-panel review remains a major catalyst and could drive significant volatility; the company remains unprofitable.

GRAIL (NASDAQ:GRAL - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by Robert W. Baird from $96.00 to $118.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird's price target would indicate a potential upside of 9.29% from the company's current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on GRAL. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of GRAIL in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of GRAIL in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of GRAIL in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Mizuho upped 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 research note on Sunday, September 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $75.10.

GRAIL Stock Performance

NASDAQ GRAL opened at $107.97 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.93. GRAIL has a fifty-two week low of $41.50 and a fifty-two week high of $118.84. The stock has a market cap of $4.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.07 and a beta of 3.25.

GRAIL (NASDAQ:GRAL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($2.56) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.66) by $0.10. The business had revenue of $44.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $42.39 million. GRAIL had a negative net margin of 236.95% and a negative return on equity of 15.88%. Sell-side analysts predict that GRAIL will post -10.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Aaron Freidin sold 7,900 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.01, for a total value of $671,579.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 253,083 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,514,585.83. This trade represents a 3.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Joshua J. Ofman sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.02, for a total transaction of $425,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 397,271 shares in the company, valued at $33,775,980.42. This represents a 1.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 1.83% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of GRAIL

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of GRAIL by 26.3% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 21,597 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,474,000 after purchasing an additional 4,498 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of GRAIL during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in shares of GRAIL by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,470 shares of the company's stock valued at $715,000 after purchasing an additional 833 shares during the last quarter. Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in GRAIL during the 2nd quarter valued at $96,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in GRAIL by 3.5% in the second quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 40,565 shares of the company's stock worth $2,769,000 after buying an additional 1,357 shares during the last quarter.

GRAIL News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting GRAIL this week:

• Positive Sentiment: FDA staff reportedly identified no major concerns with Galleri and broadly supported the test’s clinical performance, helping revive expectations that the product could clear the regulatory process. Grail rallies as FDA staff flags no major concerns for multi-cancer test
• Positive Sentiment: The briefing documents highlighted Galleri’s high accuracy and low false-positive rate, key factors that could support a favorable advisory-panel discussion and eventual approval. Low False Positives and High Accuracy: FDA Document Fueling Grail Stock Surge
• Positive Sentiment: Investors viewed the FDA materials as materially improving Galleri’s approval prospects, driving a broad reassessment of GRAIL’s valuation and sending the stock back above $100. GRAL Stock Clocks Best Day In Over 1.5 Years — FDA Papers Lift Galleri Approval Hopes
• Neutral Sentiment: The FDA advisory committee meeting remains the immediate catalyst. Panel feedback can influence the agency, but it is not the same as final FDA approval; the outcome could determine whether Galleri becomes a commercially significant product for GRAIL. GRAIL Stock Bounces Back Above $100: Can Galleri Sail Through Its FDA Panel Review?
• Negative Sentiment: The rally leaves GRAIL exposed to substantial event-driven volatility. Any unfavorable panel recommendation, requests for additional data, or delays could reverse the recent gains, while the company remains unprofitable and dependent on regulatory and commercial execution.

About GRAIL

GRAIL, Inc is a healthcare company focused on developing blood-based tests for the early detection of cancer. Its technology uses genomic and epigenomic signals, including patterns of DNA methylation, to identify signals associated with multiple cancer types from a single blood sample.

The company's primary product is Galleri, a prescription blood test designed to screen for signals of more than 50 types of cancer, including cancers that currently lack recommended screening methods. Galleri is intended to complement, not replace, guideline-recommended cancer screenings, and a positive result requires follow-up diagnostic testing to determine whether cancer is present and where it may be located.

GRAIL was founded in 2016 as a subsidiary of Illumina and became an independent publicly traded company following its separation from Illumina in 2021.

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