Nuveen LLC Buys New Stake in GRAIL, Inc. $GRAL

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has acquired 60,343 shares of GRAIL, Inc. during the first quarter, representing a stake valued at approximately $1.54 million, which accounts for about 0.17% of the company's total shares.
• GRAIL's CFO and President have sold substantial amounts of stock recently, with insiders selling a total of 361,694 shares valued at around $17.78 million in the last quarter.
• Analyst ratings are mixed; Canaccord Genuity raised its price target on GRAIL from $32.00 to $43.00, while the consensus rating stands at "Hold" with a target price of $31.50.

Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of GRAIL, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRAL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 60,343 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,541,000. Nuveen LLC owned 0.17% of GRAIL at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GRAL. Sessa Capital IM L.P. purchased a new stake in GRAIL in the fourth quarter worth about $53,550,000. Baker BROS. Advisors LP purchased a new stake in GRAIL in the fourth quarter worth about $29,098,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in GRAIL by 3.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,499,740 shares of the company's stock worth $38,303,000 after purchasing an additional 48,645 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in GRAIL in the fourth quarter worth about $18,209,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in GRAIL in the fourth quarter worth about $14,828,000.

GRAIL Price Performance

GRAIL stock traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $32.14. 37,098 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,312,037. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.45 and a beta of 3.18. The business has a 50 day moving average of $37.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.02. GRAIL, Inc. has a 12 month low of $12.33 and a 12 month high of $63.99.

GRAIL (NASDAQ:GRAL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported ($3.18) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $37.57 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that GRAIL, Inc. will post -15.15 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling at GRAIL

In other GRAIL news, President Joshua J. Ofman sold 4,202 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.02, for a total transaction of $134,548.04. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 487,874 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,621,725.48. This represents a 0.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Aaron Freidin sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.93, for a total transaction of $311,440.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 286,020 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,134,758.60. This represents a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 361,694 shares of company stock valued at $17,780,266. Insiders own 1.85% of the company's stock.

GRAIL Company 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.