Relay Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RLAY) Shares Up 7.9% - Here's Why

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) shares shot up 7.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $4.50 and last traded at $4.42. 421,319 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 2,157,727 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.09.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Relay Therapeutics Trading Up 11.7%

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $787.91 million, a PE ratio of -2.34 and a beta of 1.60.

Relay Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RLAY - Get Free Report) last announced 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 company had revenue of $0.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $0.07 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Relay Therapeutics, Inc. will post -2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Donald A. Bergstrom sold 26,701 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 $98,259.68. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 552,720 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,034,009.60. The trade was a 4.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Peter Rahmer sold 15,724 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 $57,864.32. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 377,998 shares in the company, valued at $1,391,032.64. This trade represents a 3.99% 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 insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Relay Therapeutics

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Murchinson Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Relay Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. DRW Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Relay Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. AssuredPartners Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Relay Therapeutics during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quinn Opportunity Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Relay Therapeutics during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 96.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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