Relay Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RLAY) Shares Down 7.4% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Relay Therapeutics shares fell 7.4% on Monday, trading as low as $18.44 after closing at $20.00, with volume far below normal at about 236,673 shares versus a 3.39 million average.
• Despite the drop, analysts remain broadly positive: the stock has an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $23.73, with several firms recently reaffirming or raising targets to $21–$28.
• The company recently reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results, posting a loss of $0.41 per share on $3.0 million in revenue, and insiders have also sold shares in recent months.

Relay Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:RLAY - Get Free Report) traded down 7.4% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $18.44 and last traded at $18.5160. Approximately 236,673 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 93% from the average daily volume of 3,392,015 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

RLAY has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of Relay Therapeutics from $25.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Relay Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Relay Therapeutics in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Citigroup restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Relay Therapeutics in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Citizens Jmp upped their price target on shares of Relay Therapeutics from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $23.73.

Relay Therapeutics Trading Down 6.7%

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.88 and a beta of 1.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $15.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $11.97.

Relay Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RLAY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.35) by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $3.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.58 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Relay Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Relay Therapeutics

In related news, insider Donald A. Bergstrom sold 93,456 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $16.94, for a total transaction of $1,583,144.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 418,557 shares in the company, valued at $7,090,355.58. This represents a 18.25% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sanjiv Patel sold 48,199 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.58, for a total transaction of $943,736.42. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 615,898 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,059,282.84. This represents a 7.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 426,127 shares of company stock worth $7,426,087 over the last three months. 5.04% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Relay Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RLAY. Commodore Capital LP bought a new stake in Relay Therapeutics during the 2nd quarter worth $46,191,000. Perceptive Advisors LLC raised its position in Relay Therapeutics by 412.3% in the first quarter. Perceptive Advisors LLC now owns 9,751,141 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,024,000 after purchasing an additional 7,847,896 shares during the last quarter. Spruce Street Capital LP bought a new position in Relay Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,246,000. EcoR1 Capital LLC bought a new position in Relay Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at about $18,952,000. Finally, TCG Crossover Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Relay Therapeutics during the third quarter valued at about $9,450,000. Institutional investors own 96.98% of the company's stock.

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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