Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Increases Position in GRAIL, Inc. $GRAL

Key Points

• Pictet Asset Management boosted its stake in GRAIL by 1,036.8% in Q4, buying an additional 37,326 shares to hold 40,926 shares (about 0.10% of the company) worth $3.585 million.
• Insiders sold heavily: CFO Aaron Freidin sold 45,806 shares and CEO Robert P. Ragusa sold 123,502 shares on April 8, and insiders have disposed of 310,267 shares (~$15.49M) in the past 90 days.
• GRAIL’s results are mixed—Q4 revenue of $43.6M slightly beat estimates but EPS remains deeply negative—while the stock trades near $54 with a 12‑month range of $29.95–$118.84 and an average analyst rating of Hold (average price target $68.63) after several price-target cuts and downgrades.

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in shares of GRAIL, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRAL - Free Report) by 1,036.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 40,926 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 37,326 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.10% of GRAIL worth $3,585,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of GRAIL in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Comerica Bank raised its stake in GRAIL by 59.2% during the third quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 465 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new stake in GRAIL in the third quarter worth $62,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in GRAIL in the third quarter worth $64,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of GRAIL by 19.3% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,114 shares of the company's stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter.

GRAIL Stock Performance

GRAIL stock opened at $54.06 on Monday. GRAIL, Inc. has a 12 month low of $29.95 and a 12 month high of $118.84. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.86. The firm has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.84 and a beta of 3.03.

GRAIL (NASDAQ:GRAL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported ($2.44) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($3.33) by $0.89. GRAIL had a negative return on equity of 17.11% and a negative net margin of 277.46%.The firm had revenue of $43.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.33 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that GRAIL, Inc. will post -11.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Aaron Freidin sold 45,806 shares of GRAIL stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. The trade was a 14.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Robert P. Ragusa sold 123,502 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.92, for a total transaction of $6,165,219.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 518,582 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,887,613.44. The trade was a 19.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 310,267 shares of company stock valued at $15,485,396.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GRAL. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of GRAIL in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of GRAIL from $130.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of GRAIL in a research report on Friday, April 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $54.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of GRAIL from $110.00 to $60.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of GRAIL from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $68.63.

GRAIL Company 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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