GRAIL, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRAL) Short Interest Update

GRAIL, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRAL) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 6,297,057 shares, an increase of 15.3% from the February 12th total of 5,463,389 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,336,820 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days. Approximately 16.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Approximately 16.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,336,820 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Insider Transactions at GRAIL

In related news, CEO Robert P. Ragusa sold 37,504 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were 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 directly owned 650,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,636,839.25. This represents a 5.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, President Joshua J. Ofman sold 17,002 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.16, for a total transaction of $852,820.32. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 436,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,895,241.28. The trade was a 3.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 79,294 shares of company stock worth $3,955,224 over the last ninety days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On GRAIL

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. WIM INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Ltd raised its stake in shares of GRAIL by 200.0% in the 3rd quarter. WIM INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Ltd now owns 63,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,725,000 after acquiring an additional 42,000 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in GRAIL by 159.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 206,120 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,188,000 after purchasing an additional 126,576 shares during the last quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of GRAIL by 168.7% in the third quarter. Farallon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,349,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,766,000 after buying an additional 847,000 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new stake in shares of GRAIL during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,320,000. Finally, NWF Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of GRAIL during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,062,000.

GRAIL Price Performance

NASDAQ:GRAL traded up $1.75 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $47.50. The stock had a trading volume of 346,664 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,373,293. The stock has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.25 and a beta of 5.21. The business’s 50 day moving average is $83.88 and its 200 day moving average is $78.41. GRAIL has a fifty-two week low of $20.44 and a fifty-two week high of $118.84.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GRAL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of GRAIL from $110.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on GRAIL in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $114.00 price target for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on shares of GRAIL from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of GRAIL in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim raised 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $90.17.

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.