Zacks Research Upgrades Grifols (NASDAQ:GRFS) to Hold

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Grifols from “strong sell” to “hold,” following a series of mixed analyst opinions on the stock.
• Other firms have recently turned more cautious as well: Wall Street Zen downgraded Grifols to “hold” and Weiss Ratings cut it to “sell.” The stock now carries an average rating of “Reduce” with a consensus price target of $10.00.
• Grifols shares opened at $7.31, below both its 50-day moving average of $7.64 and 200-day moving average of $8.36, while the stock’s 1-year range runs from $6.96 to $11.14.

Grifols (NASDAQ:GRFS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Grifols from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Weiss Ratings cut Grifols from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $10.00.

Grifols Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GRFS opened at $7.31 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $4.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 0.67. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $7.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $8.36. Grifols has a 1-year low of $6.96 and a 1-year high of $11.14.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Grifols

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GRFS. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Grifols by 3,205.1% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 3,013,723 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $30,017,000 after purchasing an additional 2,922,540 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Grifols by 383.7% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,800,645 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $27,894,000 after purchasing an additional 2,221,633 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Grifols in the fourth quarter valued at $18,139,000. Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Grifols by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 30,954,223 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $289,422,000 after buying an additional 1,838,727 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Grifols by 132.6% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,434,636 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $22,764,000 after buying an additional 1,387,783 shares in the last quarter.

About Grifols

Grifols, Inc NASDAQ: GRFS is a global healthcare company specializing in the development, manufacture and marketing of plasma-derived medicines, diagnostic systems and hospital supplies. With a core focus on immunotherapy and transfusion medicine, the company harnesses human plasma proteins to create therapies that treat a wide range of bleeding disorders, immunodeficiencies and neurological conditions. Grifols also supplies reagents and diagnostic instruments for transfusion centers and clinical laboratories, alongside intravenous solutions and medical devices for hospital use.

The company operates three main business units.

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