Grail (NASDAQ:GRAL) Trading 6.8% Higher - Still a Buy?

Grail, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRAL - Get Free Report) shot up 6.8% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $43.23 and last traded at $42.75. 872,844 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 31% from the average session volume of 1,256,774 shares. The stock had previously closed at $40.01.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Grail from $32.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Grail from $16.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th.

Grail Trading Down 2.9%

The business's fifty day moving average price is $32.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.38 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.63.

Grail (NASDAQ:GRAL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 13th. The company reported ($3.10) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($4.03) by $0.93. The business had revenue of $31.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.80 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Grail, Inc. will post -15.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Grail

In other Grail news, CEO Robert P. Ragusa sold 94,035 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.93, for a total transaction of $3,190,607.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 734,627 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,925,894.11. This represents a 11.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, President Joshua J. Ofman sold 48,213 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.93, for a total transaction of $1,635,867.09. Following the transaction, the president now owns 511,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,353,837.80. This trade represents a 8.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 183,398 shares of company stock worth $6,222,694 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.85% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Grail

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Grail in the 4th quarter worth approximately $244,000. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Grail in the fourth quarter valued at $559,000. Rhumbline Advisers purchased a new position in shares of Grail in the fourth quarter valued at $456,000. abrdn plc acquired a new position in shares of Grail during the 4th quarter worth $3,768,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN purchased a new stake in shares of Grail in the 4th quarter worth about $90,000.

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.