Key Points
- CEO Joshua Ofman sold 61,452 GRAIL shares at an average price of $97.74, generating approximately $6.0 million. The transaction was conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, leaving him with 362,271 shares.
- GRAIL’s Galleri cancer-detection test received a favorable but narrow recommendation from FDA advisers on effectiveness, moving it closer to a final approval decision that could significantly expand the company’s commercial opportunity.
- GRAIL exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting an adjusted loss of $2.56 per share versus the estimated $2.66 loss and revenue of $44.69 million versus the $42.39 million consensus. Analysts maintain an overall “Hold” rating with a $75.10 consensus price target, despite Baird raising its target to $118.
GRAIL, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRAL - Get Free Report) CFO Aaron Freidin sold 4,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.34, for a total transaction of $382,694.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 248,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,240,073.22. This trade represents a 1.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
Aaron Freidin also recently made the following trade(s):
- On Thursday, August 27th, Aaron Freidin sold 7,900 shares of GRAIL stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.01, for a total transaction of $671,579.00.
GRAIL Trading Up 1.3%
Shares of GRAL opened at $109.91 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $4.91 billion, a PE ratio of -11.27 and a beta of 3.25. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.72. GRAIL, Inc. has a 1-year low of $41.50 and a 1-year high of $118.84.
GRAIL (NASDAQ:GRAL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($2.56) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($2.66) by $0.10. GRAIL had a negative return on equity of 15.88% and a negative net margin of 236.95%.The firm had revenue of $44.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.39 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that GRAIL, Inc. will post -10.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Key Headlines Impacting GRAIL
Here are the key news stories impacting GRAIL this week:
- Positive Sentiment: FDA advisers backed Galleri’s safety and narrowly endorsed the evidence supporting its effectiveness. The panel’s recommendation improves the test’s prospects for FDA approval, although the vote was not an unequivocal endorsement. FDA advisers back safety of Grail's cancer test, narrowly endorses efficacy
- Positive Sentiment: The FDA advisory committee’s vote moves Galleri closer to a final premarket-approval decision, which is expected in the coming months. Approval would substantially expand GRAIL’s commercial opportunity and validate its technology. Grail's Multi-Cancer Blood Test Gets FDA Committee Vote for Premarket Approval
- Positive Sentiment: GRAIL reported findings from its PATHFINDER 2 study, providing additional clinical evidence for Galleri as investors assess the test’s potential ahead of the FDA decision. GRAIL Reports PATHFINDER 2 Study Findings
- Positive Sentiment: Robert W. Baird raised its price target to $118 from $96 and maintained an “outperform” rating, reflecting increased confidence in Galleri’s regulatory outlook.
- Neutral Sentiment: Trading was temporarily halted pending news before the FDA advisory meeting, highlighting the importance of the regulatory announcement and likely contributing to heightened volatility. Grail Trading Halted Ahead of FDA AdCom Meeting
- Negative Sentiment: Goldman Sachs initiated coverage with a “hold” rating, signaling limited conviction that the recent rally fully reflects GRAIL’s near-term upside. GRAIL Gets a Hold from Goldman Sachs
- Negative Sentiment: CEO Joshua Ofman and CFO Aaron Freidin sold shares under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans. The sales are less concerning than discretionary insider selling, but may still weigh modestly on sentiment.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of GRAIL by 26.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,385,514 shares of the company's stock valued at $162,859,000 after buying an additional 493,621 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in GRAIL by 26.3% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 21,597 shares of the company's stock worth $1,474,000 after acquiring an additional 4,498 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in GRAIL during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $82,000. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in GRAIL by 8.6% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,470 shares of the company's stock worth $715,000 after acquiring an additional 833 shares during the period. Finally, Nykredit A S purchased a new position in GRAIL during the second quarter valued at approximately $96,000.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several research firms have recently commented on GRAL. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of GRAIL in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of GRAIL from $58.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of GRAIL in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of GRAIL from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, September 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of GRAIL from $96.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $75.10.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on GRAL
About GRAIL
(
Get Free Report)
GRAIL, Inc is a healthcare company focused on developing blood-based tests for the early detection of cancer. Its technology uses genomic and epigenomic signals, including patterns of DNA methylation, to identify signals associated with multiple cancer types from a single blood sample.
The company's primary product is Galleri, a prescription blood test designed to screen for signals of more than 50 types of cancer, including cancers that currently lack recommended screening methods. Galleri is intended to complement, not replace, guideline-recommended cancer screenings, and a positive result requires follow-up diagnostic testing to determine whether cancer is present and where it may be located.
GRAIL was founded in 2016 as a subsidiary of Illumina and became an independent publicly traded company following its separation from Illumina in 2021.
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