GRAIL (NASDAQ:GRAL) Shares Down 4% - Here's Why

Key Points

• GRAIL shares fell about 4% to $52.77 on Monday with trading volume roughly 91% below its average, while Wall Street consensus rates the stock a "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $72.83.
• In its latest quarter GRAIL reported EPS -$2.44 (beating estimates) and revenue of $43.6M, but remains deeply unprofitable (net margin -277%) and analysts expect full-year EPS of about -$15.15.
• Company insiders have been sellers: President Joshua Ofman and CFO Aaron Freidin sold shares in early March, and insiders disposed of 79,294 shares (~$3.96M) last quarter, leaving insiders owning 1.85% of the stock.

GRAIL, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRAL - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 4% on Monday . The stock traded as low as $52.84 and last traded at $52.77. Approximately 110,350 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 1,252,467 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.99.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $82.00 price objective on GRAIL in a report on Friday, February 20th. Guggenheim reduced their target price on GRAIL from $130.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on GRAIL from $110.00 to $60.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. TD Cowen raised GRAIL from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on shares of GRAIL from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $72.83.

GRAIL Stock Down 5.3%

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $69.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a PE ratio of -4.67 and a beta of 4.62.

GRAIL (NASDAQ:GRAL - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $43.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.33 million. GRAIL had a negative return on equity of 17.11% and a negative net margin of 277.46%. Equities research analysts expect that GRAIL, Inc. will post -15.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other GRAIL news, President Joshua J. Ofman sold 17,002 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.16, for a total transaction of $852,820.32. Following the sale, the president directly owned 436,508 shares in the company, valued at $21,895,241.28. This represents a 3.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Aaron Freidin sold 9,573 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.17, for a total transaction of $480,277.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 309,622 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,533,735.74. This represents a 3.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 79,294 shares of company stock valued at $3,955,224. 1.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in GRAIL by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,450 shares of the company's stock worth $1,665,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of GRAIL by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,667 shares of the company's stock worth $228,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Westmount Partners LLC raised its holdings in GRAIL by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 8,279 shares of the company's stock valued at $709,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank raised its holdings in GRAIL by 59.2% in the third quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 465 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. lifted its stake in 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 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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