GRAIL (NASDAQ:GRAL) Now Covered by Analysts at Piper Sandler

Key Points

• Piper Sandler initiated coverage on GRAIL with a neutral rating and a $54 price target, implying roughly a 13.5% upside from the prior close.
• GRAIL reported a narrower-than-expected quarterly loss of ($2.44) EPS versus consensus ($3.33) and revenue of $43.6M, but remains deeply unprofitable (negative net margin ~277%) and analysts forecast about -15.15 EPS for the year.
• Significant insider selling occurred on April 8—President Joshua Ofman sold 61,665 shares and CEO Robert Ragusa sold 123,502 shares—and insiders have sold 310,267 shares (~$15.5M) in the last 90 days, leaving insiders with ~1.85% ownership.

Research analysts at Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of GRAIL (NASDAQ:GRAL - Get Free Report) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage set a "neutral" rating and a $54.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler's price objective suggests a potential upside of 13.54% from the company's previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on GRAL. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of GRAIL in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of GRAIL from $130.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on GRAIL from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Mizuho assumed coverage on GRAIL in a report on Friday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $58.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $82.00 price target on GRAIL in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $68.63.

GRAIL Stock Performance

Shares of GRAL stock opened at $47.56 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.25 and a beta of 4.62. GRAIL has a fifty-two week low of $21.80 and a fifty-two week high of $118.84. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $64.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.53.

GRAIL (NASDAQ:GRAL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported ($2.44) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($3.33) by $0.89. GRAIL had a negative net margin of 277.46% and a negative return on equity of 17.11%. The firm had revenue of $43.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $43.33 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that GRAIL will post -15.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at GRAIL

In other GRAIL news, President Joshua J. Ofman sold 61,665 shares of GRAIL stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.92, for a total transaction of $3,078,316.80. Following the sale, the president directly owned 371,216 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,531,102.72. The trade was a 14.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Robert P. Ragusa sold 123,502 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.92, for a total value of $6,165,219.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 518,582 shares in the company, valued at $25,887,613.44. This trade represents a 19.23% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 310,267 shares of company stock worth $15,485,396 over the last 90 days. 1.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GRAIL

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GRAL. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in GRAIL in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in GRAIL during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of GRAIL during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Comerica Bank grew its position in shares of GRAIL by 59.2% in the 3rd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 465 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. Finally, Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. purchased a new stake in shares of GRAIL in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.