GRAIL Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:GRAL)

GRAIL, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRAL) was the target of some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors purchased 5,910 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 229% compared to the average daily volume of 1,799 call options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GRAL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim raised their price target on GRAIL from $100.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of GRAIL in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of GRAIL from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Robert W. Baird set a $82.00 price target on shares of GRAIL in a research note on Friday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on shares of GRAIL from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.50.

GRAIL Trading Down 11.8%

Shares of GRAL traded down $5.93 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $44.28. 1,928,565 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,249,473. The company has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.97 and a beta of 4.52. GRAIL has a 52 week low of $20.44 and a 52 week high of $118.84. The company’s 50 day moving average is $96.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.53.

GRAIL (NASDAQ:GRAL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported ($2.44) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($3.33) by $0.89. The company had revenue of $43.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.33 million. GRAIL had a negative net margin of 277.46% and a negative return on equity of 17.58%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that GRAIL will post -15.15 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On GRAIL

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in GRAIL during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of GRAIL in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Comerica Bank lifted its stake in shares of GRAIL by 59.2% during the 3rd quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 465 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. bought a new stake in GRAIL during the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Ankerstar Wealth LLC bought a new stake in GRAIL during the fourth quarter valued at about $45,000.

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.