GRAIL (NASDAQ:GRAL) Stock Price Up 5.6% on Earnings Beat

GRAIL, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRAL)’s stock price rose 5.6% during trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $91.00 and last traded at $89.5250. Approximately 176,024 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 1,253,911 shares. The stock had previously closed at $84.77.

The company reported ($2.46) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($3.40) by $0.94. GRAIL had a negative return on equity of 16.64% and a negative net margin of 329.86%.The business had revenue of $36.19 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.83 million.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of GRAIL in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Guggenheim raised GRAIL from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group set a $75.00 target price on shares of GRAIL in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on GRAIL from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Joshua J. Ofman sold 81,385 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.50, for a total transaction of $5,086,562.50. Following the transaction, the president owned 396,797 shares in the company, valued at $24,799,812.50. This trade represents a 17.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert P. Ragusa sold 7,239 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.88, for a total transaction of $498,622.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 727,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,102,485.44. This represents a 0.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 117,497 shares of company stock valued at $7,515,436. 1.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GRAIL

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in GRAIL by 768.1% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 816 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 722 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of GRAIL by 390.3% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,760 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,401 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of GRAIL by 273.0% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,876 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 1,373 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of GRAIL by 1,965.4% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,148 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 2,044 shares during the period. Finally, Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new position in GRAIL during the third quarter worth about $62,000.

GRAIL Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.25 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.87 and a beta of 4.31. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $65.03 and a 200 day moving average of $47.66.

About GRAIL

GRAIL, Inc operates as a commercial-stage healthcare company, which engages in the development of a technology for early detection of cancer. It utilizes machine learning, software, and automation to detect and identify multiple deadly cancer types in earlier stages. The company was founded by Jeffrey T.