Relay Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RLAY) Trading 7.9% Higher - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Relay Therapeutics shares surged 7.9% on Thursday, closing at $4.42, following a significant decline in trading volume compared to average session levels.
• Several brokerages have issued upgrades for Relay, with Guggenheim setting a price target of $15.00 and a "buy" rating, while the consensus rating remains at "buy" with an average target price of $16.50.
• In its last quarterly earnings report, Relay Therapeutics reported an EPS of ($0.41), exceeding expectations, with revenue of $0.70 million, against forecasts of just $0.07 million.

Relay Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:RLAY - Get Free Report) traded up 7.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $4.50 and last traded at $4.42. 421,319 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 2,157,727 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.09.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RLAY has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Guggenheim initiated coverage on Relay Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $15.00 price target for the company. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on Relay Therapeutics from $29.00 to $19.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright lowered their target price on shares of Relay Therapeutics from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $16.50.

Relay Therapeutics Stock Down 2.6%

The business's fifty day moving average is $3.70 and its 200-day moving average is $3.29. The company has a market cap of $782.75 million, a PE ratio of -2.33 and a beta of 1.60.

Relay Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RLAY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported ($0.41) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.49) by $0.08. The business had revenue of $0.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $0.07 million. Analysts forecast that Relay Therapeutics, Inc. will post -2.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Relay Therapeutics

In related news, insider Peter Rahmer sold 15,724 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.68, for a total transaction of $57,864.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 377,998 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,391,032.64. The trade was a 3.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Donald A. Bergstrom sold 26,701 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.68, for a total value of $98,259.68. Following the transaction, the insider owned 552,720 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,034,009.60. This trade represents a 4.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 149,226 shares of company stock valued at $542,926 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 4.87% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Relay Therapeutics

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Murchinson Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Relay Therapeutics in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. DRW Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Relay Therapeutics in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Relay Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. 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 valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Finally, Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Relay Therapeutics in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.98% of the company's stock.

About Relay Therapeutics

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.