GRAIL, Inc. $GRAL Shares Acquired by Aberdeen Group plc

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in GRAIL, Inc. by 34.9%, now owning 284,735 shares valued at approximately $7.27 million.
• Insider Chun R. Ding sold 339,800 shares for over $16.8 million, which represented a 9.32% decrease in their holdings.
• Analyst firm Canaccord Genuity raised GRAIL's price target from $32.00 to $43.00, maintaining a "buy" rating amidst a current consensus rating of "hold."

Aberdeen Group plc lifted its position in shares of GRAIL, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRAL - Free Report) by 34.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 284,735 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 73,667 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.81% of GRAIL worth $7,272,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GRAL. LPL Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of GRAIL during the 4th quarter worth approximately $244,000. Geode Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of GRAIL during the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,920,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN purchased a new position in shares of GRAIL during the 4th quarter worth approximately $90,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of GRAIL during the 4th quarter worth approximately $337,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of GRAIL during the 4th quarter worth approximately $803,000.

Insider Buying and Selling at GRAIL

In other GRAIL news, major shareholder Chun R. Ding sold 339,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.53, for a total value of $16,830,294.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 3,305,055 shares of the company's stock, valued at $163,699,374.15. This trade represents a 9.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, President Joshua J. Ofman sold 9,692 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.00, for a total transaction of $503,984.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 492,076 shares in the company, valued at $25,587,952. The trade was a 1.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 361,694 shares of company stock valued at $17,780,266 in the last 90 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of GRAIL from $32.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, GRAIL currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.50.

GRAIL Stock Up 3.5%

GRAL stock traded up $1.15 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $34.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 697,215 shares, compared to its average volume of 869,834. GRAIL, Inc. has a 52-week low of $12.33 and a 52-week high of $63.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.60 and a beta of 3.26. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $36.39.

GRAIL (NASDAQ:GRAL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported ($3.18) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($3.14) by ($0.04). GRAIL had a negative net margin of 329.86% and a negative return on equity of 16.64%. The business had revenue of $35.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $37.57 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that GRAIL, Inc. will post -15.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

GRAIL Profile

GRAIL, Inc operates as a commercial-stage healthcare company, which engages in the development of a technology for early detection of cancer. It utilizes machine learning, software, and automation to detect and identify multiple deadly cancer types in earlier stages. The company was founded by Jeffrey T.