GRAIL (NASDAQ:GRAL) Trading Up 7.6% - Here's Why

Key Points

• GRAIL, Inc. stock surged by 7.6% to a trading price of $67.61, despite an 85% decline in trading volume compared to its average session.
• Analysts have set new price targets for GRAIL, with Canaccord Genuity and UBS both raising their targets to $75.00, while the consensus rating remains at "Hold" with a target of $56.67.
• Recent insider trading includes the CFO selling 8,000 shares, which indicates ongoing activity among company executives with a combined total of over $1 million in insider sales in the past three months.

GRAIL, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRAL - Get Free Report) traded up 7.6% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $66.58 and last traded at $67.61. 186,503 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 1,272,637 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.82.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GRAL shares. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of GRAIL from $43.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of GRAIL in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group set a $75.00 target price on GRAIL in a report on Friday, October 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $56.67.

GRAIL Stock Performance

The company's 50-day moving average is $39.73 and its 200-day moving average is $37.64. The firm has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.33 and a beta of 4.11.

GRAIL (NASDAQ:GRAL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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). GRAIL had a negative net margin of 329.86% and a negative return on equity of 16.64%. The business had revenue of $35.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.57 million. On average, analysts predict that GRAIL, Inc. will post -15.15 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other GRAIL news, CFO Aaron Freidin sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.93, for a total value of $311,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 286,020 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,134,758.60. This represents a 2.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Joshua J. Ofman sold 9,692 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.00, for a total transaction of $620,288.00. Following the sale, the president owned 478,182 shares in the company, valued at $30,603,648. The trade was a 1.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,894 shares of company stock worth $1,066,276 in the last three months.

Institutional Trading of GRAIL

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GRAL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in GRAIL by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,499,740 shares of the company's stock worth $38,303,000 after buying an additional 48,645 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of GRAIL by 61.0% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,337,163 shares of the company's stock worth $33,991,000 after acquiring an additional 506,440 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of GRAIL by 60.4% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 757,770 shares of the company's stock worth $38,969,000 after purchasing an additional 285,331 shares during the period. Wealthquest Corp acquired a new position in shares of GRAIL in the 1st quarter worth approximately $18,247,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in GRAIL by 7.9% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 350,979 shares of the company's stock valued at $18,047,000 after buying an additional 25,548 shares during the period.

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.

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