GRAIL, Inc. $GRAL Shares Sold by Allianz Asset Management GmbH

Key Points

• Allianz Asset Management cut its GRAIL stake by 69.5% in the second quarter, selling 127,257 shares and retaining 55,818 shares worth approximately $3.8 million.
• GRAIL reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with an adjusted loss of $2.56 per share versus the $2.66 estimate and revenue of $44.69 million versus the $42.39 million consensus. However, the company remains deeply unprofitable, with a negative net margin of 236.95%.
• GRAIL shares opened at $79.10, above the analyst consensus target of $67.78. Analyst sentiment is mixed, resulting in a consensus “Hold” rating, while the CEO and CFO each sold shares under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans.

Allianz Asset Management GmbH lowered its holdings in GRAIL, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRAL - Free Report) by 69.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 55,818 shares of the company's stock after selling 127,257 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned about 0.12% of GRAIL worth $3,811,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of GRAIL by 15,733.3% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 475 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank boosted its holdings in shares of GRAIL by 59.2% in the third quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 465 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of GRAIL in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of GRAIL by 160.0% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 585 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the period. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of GRAIL in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000.

GRAIL Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GRAL opened at $79.10 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.43. GRAIL, Inc. has a 52 week low of $35.39 and a 52 week high of $118.84. The stock has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.11 and a beta of 3.25.

GRAIL (NASDAQ:GRAL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($2.56) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.66) by $0.10. The company had revenue of $44.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 predict that GRAIL, Inc. will post -10.41 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GRAL shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of GRAIL from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of GRAIL in a research note on Friday, June 5th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of GRAIL in a research report on Friday, July 17th. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of GRAIL in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on GRAIL in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, GRAIL presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $67.78.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other GRAIL news, CFO Aaron Freidin sold 7,900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.01, for a total transaction of $671,579.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 253,083 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,514,585.83. This represents a 3.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 397,271 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,775,980.42. This represents a 1.24% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.83% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

GRAIL Profile

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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