GRAIL (NASDAQ:GRAL) Trading Up 12.3% - Time to Buy?

GRAIL, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRAL - Get Free Report) shares traded up 12.3% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $45.48 and last traded at $47.24. 600,076 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 52% from the average session volume of 1,258,151 shares. The stock had previously closed at $42.05.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on GRAL shares. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of GRAIL from $32.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of GRAIL from $16.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th.

GRAIL Trading Down 5.8%

The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $37.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.95. The company has a market capitalization of $1.64 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.75.

GRAIL (NASDAQ:GRAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 13th. The company reported ($3.10) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($4.03) by $0.93. The business had revenue of $31.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.80 million. GRAIL had a negative net margin of 1,464.53% and a negative return on equity of 17.99%. As a group, analysts forecast that GRAIL, Inc. will post -15.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Robert P. Ragusa sold 94,035 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 734,627 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Joshua J. Ofman sold 48,213 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the president now directly owns 511,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,353,837.80. The trade was a 8.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 183,398 shares of company stock valued at $6,222,694. Company insiders own 1.85% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GRAIL

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Crcm LP purchased a new stake in shares of GRAIL in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $65,061,000. Sessa Capital IM L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of GRAIL in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,550,000. Primecap Management Co. CA purchased a new stake in shares of GRAIL in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,118,000. Baker BROS. Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of GRAIL in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,098,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of GRAIL in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,902,000.

About GRAIL

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.