GRAIL (NASDAQ:GRAL) Trading 11.2% Higher - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• GRAIL's stock price rose by 11.2% during mid-day trading, reaching a high of $92.46 before last trading at $91.88, despite a significant decrease in trading volume.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed views on GRAIL, with one research firm upgrading its price target to $85 and others maintaining a "Hold" consensus with an average target price of $60.
• Insider selling was noted, with President Joshua J. Ofman selling over 81,000 shares for approximately $5 million, resulting in a significant decrease in his ownership stake in the company.

GRAIL, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRAL - Get Free Report) shot up 11.2% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $92.46 and last traded at $91.88. 407,746 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 68% from the average session volume of 1,275,778 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.65.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GRAL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of GRAIL in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on GRAIL from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group set a $75.00 target price on GRAIL in a report on Friday, October 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $60.00.

GRAIL Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.85 and a beta of 4.11. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $50.30 and a 200 day moving average of $41.75.

GRAIL (NASDAQ:GRAL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported ($3.18) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($3.14) by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $35.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.57 million. GRAIL had a negative return on equity of 16.64% and a negative net margin of 329.86%. Sell-side analysts predict that GRAIL, Inc. will post -15.15 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at GRAIL

In other GRAIL news, President Joshua J. Ofman sold 81,385 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.50, for a total transaction of $5,086,562.50. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 396,797 shares in the company, valued at $24,799,812.50. This represents a 17.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert P. Ragusa sold 7,239 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.88, for a total value of $498,622.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 727,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $50,102,485.44. This trade represents a 0.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 117,497 shares of company stock valued at $7,515,436. Company insiders own 1.85% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GRAIL

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in GRAIL by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 8,538 shares of the company's stock valued at $439,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of GRAIL by 24.1% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,313 shares of the company's stock worth $119,000 after buying an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. Crown Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of GRAIL by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Crown Wealth Group LLC now owns 8,986 shares of the company's stock valued at $462,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of GRAIL by 28.2% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,835 shares of the company's stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 623 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of GRAIL by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 11,591 shares of the company's stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 627 shares in the last quarter.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.