GRAIL, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRAL) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Consensus "Moderate Buy": Six analysts cover GRAIL with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy (4 buys, 1 hold, 1 sell) and an average 12‑month price target of about $72.83.
• Significant insider selling: The president and CFO sold sizeable stakes on April 8 (61,665 and 45,806 shares respectively), and insiders have sold 310,267 shares worth ~$15.49M over the last 90 days, leaving insiders with roughly 1.85% ownership.
• Mixed fundamentals: GRAIL reported a smaller‑than‑expected quarterly loss (EPS -$2.44 vs. est. -$3.33) with $43.6M revenue but remains unprofitable (negative net margin ~277%) and analysts forecast FY EPS around -15.15; shares trade near $47.56 with a market cap of ~$1.95B.

GRAIL, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRAL - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the six research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $72.8333.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GRAL shares. Robert W. Baird set a $82.00 target price on GRAIL in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Guggenheim decreased their target price on GRAIL from $130.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on GRAIL from $110.00 to $60.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of GRAIL in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen raised GRAIL from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Joshua J. Ofman sold 61,665 shares of GRAIL stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.92, for a total value of $3,078,316.80. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 371,216 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,531,102.72. This trade represents a 14.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Aaron Freidin sold 45,806 shares of GRAIL stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,012,596.48. This trade represents a 14.95% decrease in their position. 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. 1.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GRAIL

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GRAL. Farallon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in GRAIL by 73.7% in the 4th quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,342,684 shares of the company's stock worth $200,510,000 after acquiring an additional 993,684 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in GRAIL by 63.8% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,511,687 shares of the company's stock worth $129,385,000 after acquiring an additional 588,647 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in GRAIL by 38.8% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,827,523 shares of the company's stock worth $156,418,000 after acquiring an additional 510,546 shares during the last quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP increased its holdings in GRAIL by 27.9% in the 4th quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 2,085,333 shares of the company's stock worth $178,484,000 after acquiring an additional 455,208 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in GRAIL in the 4th quarter worth about $37,874,000.

GRAIL Price Performance

Shares of GRAIL stock opened at $47.56 on Friday. GRAIL has a 1 year low of $21.80 and a 1 year high of $118.84. The firm has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a PE ratio of -4.25 and a beta of 4.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $64.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $79.53.

GRAIL (NASDAQ:GRAL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported ($2.44) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.33 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that GRAIL will post -15.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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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