Relay Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RLAY) Shares Up 7% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Relay Therapeutics stock rose by 7% during trading, reaching a high of $4.71, with average trading volume significantly declining by 54% to 986,853 shares.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on the stock, with one Strong Buy, six Buy, and one Hold, while the consensus target price is $16.50.
• Insider trading activity included the sale of 18,276 shares by insider Brian Adams and 61,379 shares by CEO Sanjiv Patel, indicating a decrease in ownership by top executives.

Relay Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:RLAY - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 7% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $4.71 and last traded at $4.69. 986,853 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 54% from the average session volume of 2,148,939 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.38.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on RLAY. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on Relay Therapeutics from $29.00 to $19.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Guggenheim began coverage on Relay Therapeutics in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $15.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, HC Wainwright cut their price objective on Relay Therapeutics from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $16.50.

Relay Therapeutics Stock Up 18.0%

The firm has a market capitalization of $891.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.65 and a beta of 1.60. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $3.77 and a 200 day moving average of $3.32.

Relay Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RLAY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.49) by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $0.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $0.07 million. Analysts predict that Relay Therapeutics, Inc. will post -2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Brian Adams sold 18,276 shares of Relay Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.68, for a total value of $67,255.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 371,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,367,016.96. This trade represents a 4.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Sanjiv Patel sold 61,379 shares of Relay Therapeutics stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.57, for a total value of $219,123.03. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 765,288 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,732,078.16. This trade represents a 7.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 149,226 shares of company stock valued at $542,926. 4.87% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Relay Therapeutics

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of RLAY. Murchinson Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Relay Therapeutics during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Relay Therapeutics by 100.0% during the second quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 10,000 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC bought a new stake in Relay Therapeutics during the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. DRW Securities LLC bought a new stake in Relay Therapeutics during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, May Hill Capital LLC bought a new stake in Relay Therapeutics during the second quarter worth approximately $38,000. 96.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Relay Therapeutics Company Profile

Relay Therapeutics, Inc operates as a clinical-stage precision medicines company. It engages in transforming the drug discovery process with an initial focus on enhancing small molecule therapeutic discovery in targeted oncology and genetic disease indications. The company's lead product candidates include RLY-4008, an oral small molecule inhibitor of fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2), which is in a first-in-human clinical trial for patients with advanced or metastatic FGFR2-altered solid tumors; RLY-2608, a lead mutant-PI3Ka inhibitor program that targets phosphoinostide 3 kinase alpha; and Migoprotafib (GDC-1971), an oral, small molecule, potent and selective inhibitor of the protein tyrosine phosphatase SHP2 that binds and stabilizes Src homology region 2 domain-containing phosphatase-2 (SHP2) as a monotherapy in patients with advanced or metastatic solid tumors.

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