GRAIL Insiders Selling US$10m In Stock Relieved As Market Cap Slides To US$1.7b

Over the past year, insiders sold US$10m worth of GRAIL, Inc. (NASDAQ:GRAL) stock at an average price of US$23.34 per share allowing them to get the most out of their money. The company’s market cap plunged by US$236m after price dropped by 13% last week but insiders were able to limit their loss to an extent.

Although we don't think shareholders should simply follow insider transactions, logic dictates you should pay some attention to whether insiders are buying or selling shares.

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The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At GRAIL

In the last twelve months, the biggest single sale by an insider was when the CEO & Director, Robert Ragusa, sold US$3.2m worth of shares at a price of US$33.93 per share. That means that even when the share price was below the current price of US$44.85, an insider wanted to cash in some shares. We generally consider it a negative if insiders have been selling, especially if they did so below the current price, because it implies that they considered a lower price to be reasonable. While insider selling is not a positive sign, we can't be sure if it does mean insiders think the shares are fully valued, so it's only a weak sign. This single sale was just 31% of Robert Ragusa's stake.

Insiders in GRAIL didn't buy any shares in the last year. You can see the insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year depicted in the chart below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

View our latest analysis for GRAIL

If you like to buy stocks that insiders are buying, rather than selling, then you might just love this free list of companies. (Hint: Most of them are flying under the radar).

GRAIL Insiders Are Selling The Stock

The last quarter saw substantial insider selling of GRAIL shares. In total, insiders dumped US$6.2m worth of shares in that time, and we didn't record any purchases whatsoever. In light of this it's hard to argue that all the insiders think that the shares are a bargain.

Does GRAIL Boast High Insider Ownership?

Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. GRAIL insiders own about US$19m worth of shares. That equates to 1.1% of the company. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders.

So What Do The GRAIL Insider Transactions Indicate?

Insiders sold stock recently, but they haven't been buying. Looking to the last twelve months, our data doesn't show any insider buying. While insiders do own shares, they don't own a heap, and they have been selling. So we'd only buy after careful consideration. While it's good to be aware of what's going on with the insider's ownership and transactions, we make sure to also consider what risks are facing a stock before making any investment decision. Be aware that GRAIL is showing 4 warning signs in our investment analysis, and 1 of those doesn't sit too well with us...

Of course GRAIL may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies.

For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions of direct interests only, but not derivative transactions or indirect interests.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.