GRAIL, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRAL) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of GRAIL, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRAL) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $90.1667.

A number of research firms have recently commented on GRAL. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of GRAIL from $100.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of GRAIL in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on GRAIL from $110.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Robert W. Baird set a $82.00 price target on GRAIL in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on GRAIL from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 20th.

GRAIL Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of GRAL stock opened at $43.06 on Monday. GRAIL has a 12 month low of $20.44 and a 12 month high of $118.84. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.33. The firm has a market cap of $1.77 billion, a PE ratio of -3.85 and a beta of 5.21.

GRAIL (NASDAQ:GRAL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported ($2.44) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($3.33) by $0.89. GRAIL had a negative net margin of 277.46% and a negative return on equity of 17.11%. The business had revenue of $43.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.33 million. On average, equities analysts predict that GRAIL will post -15.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Joshua J. Ofman sold 2,937 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.89, for a total value of $140,652.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 432,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,730,671.09. This trade represents a 0.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Aaron Freidin sold 2,492 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.89, for a total transaction of $119,341.88. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 306,475 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,677,087.75. The trade was a 0.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 79,294 shares of company stock valued at $3,955,224.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. WIM INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Ltd grew its holdings in GRAIL by 200.0% during the third quarter. WIM INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 63,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,725,000 after purchasing an additional 42,000 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in GRAIL by 159.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 206,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,188,000 after buying an additional 126,576 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in GRAIL in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,320,000. NWF Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of GRAIL in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,062,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of GRAIL in the third quarter valued at approximately $885,000.

GRAIL Company Profile

GRAIL, Inc (NASDAQ: GRAL) is a biotechnology company dedicated to the early detection of cancer through a multi-cancer blood test. Leveraging advances in next-generation sequencing, cell-free DNA (cfDNA) analysis and machine learning, GRAIL has developed the Galleri™ test, which aims to identify more than 50 types of cancer at their earliest stages. The company’s platform analyzes methylation patterns in circulating tumor DNA to pinpoint tumor presence and tissue of origin, enabling physicians to pursue timely diagnostic follow-up.

Founded in 2016 as a spin-out from Illumina, GRAIL established its headquarters in Menlo Park, California, with additional research and operations centers in the United Kingdom.