Aberdeen Group plc Sells 144,512 Shares of GRAIL, Inc. $GRAL

Aberdeen Group plc reduced its position in GRAIL, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRAL) by 53.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 124,928 shares of the company’s stock after selling 144,512 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned 0.32% of GRAIL worth $10,693,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Comerica Bank increased its position in GRAIL by 59.2% during the 3rd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in GRAIL during the 3rd quarter valued at about $62,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in GRAIL during the 3rd quarter valued at about $64,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in GRAIL by 27.9% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,000 after buying an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its position in GRAIL by 244.0% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 1,142 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of GRAIL in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. TD Cowen raised GRAIL from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on GRAIL from $110.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of GRAIL from $130.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $82.00 price objective on shares of GRAIL in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, GRAIL currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.83.

GRAIL Trading Down 5.0%

NASDAQ:GRAL opened at $49.15 on Wednesday. GRAIL, Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.53 and a 12 month high of $118.84. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.95. The company has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.40 and a beta of 4.62.

GRAIL (NASDAQ:GRAL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported ($2.44) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $43.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.33 million. Equities analysts forecast that GRAIL, Inc. will post -15.15 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Aaron Freidin sold 9,573 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.17, for a total value of $480,277.41. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 309,622 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,533,735.74. This represents a 3.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Robert P. Ragusa sold 37,504 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.17, for a total transaction of $1,881,575.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 650,525 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,636,839.25. This trade represents a 5.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 79,294 shares of company stock worth $3,955,224. 1.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.