State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Takes Position in GRAIL, Inc. $GRAL

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D purchased a new stake in shares of GRAIL, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRAL) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 12,499 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,070,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GRAL. Farallon Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in GRAIL by 168.7% in the third quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,349,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,766,000 after purchasing an additional 847,000 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in GRAIL by 121.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 335,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,830,000 after acquiring an additional 183,611 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in GRAIL by 145.9% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 294,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,434,000 after acquiring an additional 174,959 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in GRAIL by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,980,783 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,535,000 after acquiring an additional 163,790 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in GRAIL by 259.1% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 218,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,244,000 after acquiring an additional 157,780 shares in the last quarter.

GRAIL Trading Down 0.6%

GRAL stock opened at $61.26 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.06. GRAIL, Inc. has a 12-month low of $29.95 and a 12-month high of $118.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a PE ratio of -5.91 and a beta of 3.03.

GRAIL (NASDAQ:GRAL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($2.29) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($2.76) by $0.47. The firm had revenue of $40.79 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $39.16 million. GRAIL had a negative return on equity of 16.42% and a negative net margin of 253.22%. On average, research analysts predict that GRAIL, Inc. will post -11.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Aaron Freidin sold 45,806 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.92, for a total transaction of $2,286,635.52. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 260,669 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,012,596.48. This trade represents a 14.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, President Joshua J. Ofman sold 61,665 shares of GRAIL stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.92, for a total transaction of $3,078,316.80. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 371,216 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,531,102.72. This represents a 14.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 310,267 shares of company stock worth $15,485,396. 1.83% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GRAL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on shares of GRAIL from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on GRAIL from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of GRAIL in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird set a $70.00 price objective on GRAIL in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on GRAIL from $65.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.88.

About GRAIL

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.