Grail (NASDAQ:GRAL) Shares Down 3.6% – Here’s Why

Grail, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRAL)’s stock price fell 3.6% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $30.19 and last traded at $30.97. 128,782 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 1,224,569 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.13.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Grail from $16.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th.

Grail Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $33.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.04.

Grail (NASDAQ:GRAL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported ($1.86) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($4.41) by $2.55. The firm had revenue of $38.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.33 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Grail, Inc. will post -15.15 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Joshua J. Ofman sold 2,109 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.20, for a total transaction of $65,800.80. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 559,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,461,797.60. This represents a 0.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Aaron Freidin sold 1,816 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.20, for a total value of $56,659.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 335,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,457,304. This trade represents a 0.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 11,550 shares of company stock valued at $360,436.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Grail

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crcm LP acquired a new position in Grail in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,061,000. Sessa Capital IM L.P. bought a new position in Grail during the 4th quarter worth $53,550,000. Primecap Management Co. CA bought a new stake in Grail in the fourth quarter valued at $37,118,000. Baker BROS. Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Grail during the fourth quarter worth about $29,098,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. bought a new stake in Grail in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,902,000.

About Grail

GRAIL, Inc is a healthcare company. It engages in the development of a technology for early detection of cancer. The company was founded by Jeffrey T. Huber, William H. Rastetter, and Mostafa Ronaghi on September 11, 2015 and is headquartered in Menlo Park, CA.