Joshua Ofman Sells 61,665 Shares of GRAIL (NASDAQ:GRAL) Stock

Key Points

• GRAIL President Joshua Ofman sold 61,665 shares on April 8 at an average price of $49.92, generating about $3.08 million and reducing his ownership by 14.25% to 371,216 shares (SEC filing).
• The stock traded down about 6.3% to $47.56 on Thursday with ~901,496 shares changing hands (vs. average volume ~1.27M); GRAIL has a market cap near $1.95 billion and a high beta of 4.62.
• GRAIL beat quarterly EPS estimates (loss of $2.44 vs. −$3.33 expected) but remains unprofitable with a negative net margin of 277.46%; analysts' consensus is a “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $72.83 and an expected FY EPS of −15.15.

GRAIL, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRAL - Get Free Report) President Joshua Ofman sold 61,665 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.92, for a total transaction of $3,078,316.80. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 371,216 shares in the company, valued at $18,531,102.72. This represents a 14.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

GRAIL Trading Down 6.3%

NASDAQ GRAL traded down $3.22 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $47.56. 901,496 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,270,402. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a PE ratio of -4.25 and a beta of 4.62. GRAIL, Inc. has a 12 month low of $21.80 and a 12 month high of $118.84. The company has a 50 day moving average of $66.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $79.75.

GRAIL (NASDAQ:GRAL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported ($2.44) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($3.33) by $0.89. The company had revenue of $43.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.33 million. GRAIL had a negative net margin of 277.46% and a negative return on equity of 17.11%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that GRAIL, Inc. will post -15.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Guggenheim cut their price objective on GRAIL from $130.00 to $75.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of GRAIL in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Robert W. Baird set a $82.00 target price on shares of GRAIL in a research note on Friday, February 20th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of GRAIL from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on shares of GRAIL from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $72.83.

Institutional Trading of GRAIL

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of GRAIL by 73.7% in the 4th quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,342,684 shares of the company's stock worth $200,510,000 after purchasing an additional 993,684 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in GRAIL by 63.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,511,687 shares of the company's stock worth $129,385,000 after buying an additional 588,647 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in GRAIL by 38.8% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,827,523 shares of the company's stock worth $156,418,000 after buying an additional 510,546 shares during the period. Baker BROS. Advisors LP increased its position in GRAIL by 27.9% in the fourth quarter. Baker BROS. Advisors LP now owns 2,085,333 shares of the company's stock worth $178,484,000 after buying an additional 455,208 shares during the period. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in GRAIL in the fourth quarter valued at $37,874,000.

GRAIL Company Profile

GRAIL, Inc NASDAQ: GRAL is a biotechnology company dedicated to the early detection of cancer through a multi-cancer blood test. Leveraging advances in next-generation sequencing, cell-free DNA (cfDNA) analysis and machine learning, GRAIL has developed the Galleri™ test, which aims to identify more than 50 types of cancer at their earliest stages. The company's platform analyzes methylation patterns in circulating tumor DNA to pinpoint tumor presence and tissue of origin, enabling physicians to pursue timely diagnostic follow-up.

Founded in 2016 as a spin-out from Illumina, GRAIL established its headquarters in Menlo Park, California, with additional research and operations centers in the United Kingdom.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.