GRAIL (NASDAQ:GRAL) Trading Up 9.1% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• GRAIL, Inc. shares rose by 9.1% during mid-day trading, with a last traded price of $38.66, although trading volume was significantly lower than average.
• Analysts at Canaccord Genuity raised their price target for GRAIL from $32.00 to $43.00 and maintained a "buy" rating, while the consensus rating for the stock is currently a "Hold" with a target price of $31.50.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of ($3.18), missing estimates, and had a negative net margin of 329.86% for the quarter.

GRAIL, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRAL - Get Free Report) was up 9.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $36.28 and last traded at $38.66. Approximately 22,800 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 98% from the average daily volume of 1,299,049 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.42.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of GRAIL from $32.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, GRAIL currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $31.50.

GRAIL Stock Up 11.0%

The company has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.00 and a beta of 3.18. The company's 50-day moving average is $36.00 and its 200 day moving average is $35.60.

GRAIL (NASDAQ:GRAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 12th. The company reported ($3.18) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $35.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $37.57 million. Analysts predict that GRAIL, Inc. will post -15.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Chun R. Ding sold 339,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.53, for a total value of $16,830,294.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 3,305,055 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $163,699,374.15. The trade was a 9.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Joshua J. Ofman sold 4,202 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.02, for a total transaction of $134,548.04. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 487,874 shares in the company, valued at $15,621,725.48. This trade represents a 0.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 361,694 shares of company stock valued at $17,780,266. Company insiders own 1.85% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GRAIL

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GRAL. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of GRAIL in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $860,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD purchased a new position in GRAIL in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $438,000. Northern Trust Corp purchased a new stake in shares of GRAIL during the fourth quarter worth $2,605,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of GRAIL in the fourth quarter valued at $681,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets acquired a new position in GRAIL during the 4th quarter worth $50,000.

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.

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