Relay Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RLAY) Hits New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Relay Therapeutics hit a new 52-week high after Barclays raised its price target from $17 to $21 and maintained an overweight rating; the stock traded up to $14.64 (last $14.51) on heavy volume.
• Multiple analysts have raised price targets (e.g., Guggenheim to $22, HC Wainwright to $19), giving the stock a MarketBeat consensus of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $18.43.
• Insiders sold 50,134 shares worth $386,781 in the past 90 days, reducing insider ownership to about 4.87%, while institutional investors reportedly own 96.98% of the stock.

Relay Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:RLAY - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $17.00 to $21.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Relay Therapeutics traded as high as $14.64 and last traded at $14.51, with a volume of 5620093 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.48.

RLAY has been the subject of a number of other reports. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Relay Therapeutics in a report on Monday, March 16th. Citizens Jmp raised their price target on shares of Relay Therapeutics from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. HC Wainwright raised their price target on shares of Relay Therapeutics from $14.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Relay Therapeutics in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Relay Therapeutics from $15.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $18.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Peter Rahmer sold 11,684 shares of Relay Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.62, for a total transaction of $89,032.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 277,964 shares in the company, valued at $2,118,085.68. This trade represents a 4.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Donald A. Bergstrom sold 18,895 shares of Relay Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.62, for a total transaction of $143,979.90. Following the transaction, the insider owned 422,733 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,221,225.46. This represents a 4.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 50,134 shares of company stock worth $386,781. 4.87% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Relay Therapeutics by 26.4% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 8,422 shares of the company's stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 1,757 shares during the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC grew its holdings in shares of Relay Therapeutics by 16.2% during the fourth quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 12,984 shares of the company's stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 1,809 shares during the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Relay Therapeutics by 5.0% during the third quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 38,932 shares of the company's stock valued at $203,000 after buying an additional 1,848 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Relay Therapeutics by 8.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 27,871 shares of the company's stock valued at $145,000 after buying an additional 2,079 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prelude Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Relay Therapeutics by 18.7% during the third quarter. Prelude Capital Management LLC now owns 19,700 shares of the company's stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 3,100 shares during the last quarter. 96.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Relay Therapeutics Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.96 and a beta of 1.57. The business's fifty day moving average price is $9.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.07.

Relay Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RLAY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.32) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.38) by $0.06. The business had revenue of $7.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.34 million. Equities research analysts predict that Relay Therapeutics, Inc. will post -2.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Relay Therapeutics

Relay Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of precision therapies for oncology. Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the company was founded in 2016 with the goal of targeting dynamic protein motion using an integrated scientific platform. Relay Therapeutics leverages computational modeling, structural biology, and experimental validation to identify small-molecule drug candidates that modulate the behavior of disease-associated proteins.

The company's core business activity centers on its proprietary drug-discovery engine, which combines high-performance computing—including molecular dynamics simulations—with advanced experimental techniques such as cryo-electron microscopy and biophysical screening.

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