Latest news with #GRAILInc
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Stock Market News for May 23, 2025
U.S. stocks markets closed mixed after a choppy session. Market participants remained concerned that the proposed tax-cut bill of President Trump will further worsen U.S. fiscal deficit. Spike in yields of long-dated U.S. sovereign bonds also unnerved investors. The Dow and the S&P 500 ended in negative territory while the Nasdaq Composite managed to finished in positive zone. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) fell 1.35 points to close at 41,859.09. Notably, 15 components of the 30-stock index ended in negative territory and 15 finished in positive zone. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished at 18,925.73, gaining 0.3% due to strong performance of technology bigwigs. However, the major gainer of the tech-laden index was GRAIL Inc. GRAL. The stock price of the biotech firm was up 3.5%. GRAIL currently carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. The S&P 500 was down 2.6 points to finish at 5,842.01. Nine broad sectors of the broad-market index ended in negative territory while two in positive zone. The Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) rose 0.4% while the Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) fell 0.8%. The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was down 2.8% to 20.28. A total of 16.09 billion shares were traded on Thursday, lower than the last 20-session average of 17.56 billion. The S&P 500 posted four new 52-week highs and nine new 52-week lows while the Nasdaq Composite recorded 49 new 52-week highs and 109 new 52-week lows. Yields on long-dated U.S. government securities spiked after republican-controlled House passed the state and local taxes (SALT) bill of the Trump administration on a water-thin majority. The 2017 Republican tax bill capped SALT deductions at $10,000 and the current tax bill has raised the limit to $40,000. Earlier, House republicans from Democrat-controlled states raised questions on the tax deduction allowed for SALT on federal income tax returns. A rough estimate has shown that the proposed tax cut will generate around $3.8 trillion extra burden on the U.S. government exchequer. The United States is currently facing a gigantic $36.2 trillion fiscal deficit. Given the concerns of the U.S. fiscal prudence, on May 21, the auction for 20-Year U.S. Treasury Notes had a lackluster demand from investors. Market participants shorted long-dated government securities. As a result, yield on the 30-Year U.S. Treasury Note last traded around 5.161%, touching the highest level going back to October 2023. Similarly, the yield on the benchmark 10-Year U.S. Treasury Note spiked to 4.59%, its highest level since mid-February. On May 16, Moody's Investor Services downgraded the U.S. sovereign credit rating by one notch to Aa1 from Aaa. Moody's is the third major rating agency after the S&P 500 Global and Fitch to downgrade the U.S. sovereign credit rating. The rating agency cited the growing burden of financing the federal government's outstanding budget deficit of a mammoth $36.2 trillion and the rising cost of rolling over existing debt under the high-interest rate regime. The Department of Labor reported that initial claims decreased 2,000 to 227,000 for the week ended May 17, lower-than the consensus estimate of 230,000. Continuing claims (those who have already received government aids and reported a week behind) increased 36,000 to 1.903 million. Previous week's data was revised downward by 14,000 to 1.867 million. The National Association of REALTORS reported that existing home sales in April came in at 4 million units compared with the consensus estimate of 4.18 million and March's metric of 4.02 million units. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report GRAIL, Inc. (GRAL) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
GRAIL Inc (GRAL) Q1 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Strong Revenue Growth and Strategic Advances
Revenue: $31.8 million, up 19% compared to Q1 2024. Screening Revenue: $29.1 million, up 24% compared to Q1 2024. Development Service Revenue: $2.7 million. US Galleri Revenue: $28.7 million, up 22% compared to Q1 2024. Net Loss: $106.2 million, an improvement of 51% compared to Q1 2024. Non-GAAP Adjusted Gross Profit: $14.3 million, up 19% compared to Q1 2024. Cash Position: $677.9 million at the end of the quarter. Galleri Tests Sold: More than 37,000 tests in Q1 2025. Repeat Testing: More than 20% of Galleri volume is repeat testing. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 4 Warning Signs with GRAL. Release Date: May 13, 2025 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. GRAIL Inc (NASDAQ:GRAL) reported a strong first quarter with revenue of $31.8 million, marking a 19% increase compared to the first quarter of 2024. The Galleri test demonstrated a specificity of 99.5%, equating to a low false positive rate of 0.5%, which is crucial for reducing unnecessary workups and costs. The NHS Galleri trial, the largest randomized control trial of any MCED test, showed encouraging top-line results from its first screening round. GRAIL Inc (NASDAQ:GRAL) has a substantial cash position of $677.9 million, with a cash runway extending into 2028, allowing them to achieve major planned clinical and regulatory milestones. The company has achieved Tricare coverage and has made Galleri more accessible through partnerships with Quest Diagnostics and Athena Health. GRAIL Inc (NASDAQ:GRAL) reported a net loss of $106.2 million for the quarter, despite an improvement of 51% compared to the first quarter of 2024. The company is facing competition from other upcoming MCED launches, which could impact their operational expenses and market position. There are concerns about the health economics of the Galleri test, particularly regarding the cost-effectiveness of annual testing at the current ASP levels. The NHS Galleri trial results are not expected until mid-2026, which delays potential commercialization decisions in the UK. Despite a strong cash position, there are concerns about the company's ability to fund operations through the period leading up to FDA approval and CMS reimbursement. Q: Can you quantify the short-term variable cost improvements from the new version of Galleri launched in December? A: Aaron Freidin, CFO: We launched the new version at the end of last year, and in the first quarter, we expect margins to improve as we increase scale and transition fully to the new version. Variable cost improvements will become more apparent over time. Q: How have Quest and Tricare approvals impacted your expectations for the first quarter, and is there potential upside? A: Robert Ragusa, CEO: It's early days for both Quest and Tricare. We are seeing improved ordering from Quest providers, which is encouraging. For Tricare, we are working through the contracting process, and more updates will come later in the year. Q: Can you discuss the cash burn trajectory and how you're managing OpEx with upcoming MCED launches from competitors? A: Aaron Freidin, CFO: We burned just under $90 million in the first quarter, which included annual bonus payouts. As margins improve, we expect to stay within our $320 million cash burn target. Robert Ragusa, CEO: We are monitoring competitor launches but currently do not anticipate significant OpEx impacts. Q: How should we interpret the NHS Galleri trial results shared today, and when can we expect Pathfinder 2 data? A: Robert Ragusa, CEO: We expect the full three-year study results mid-next year. Harpal Kumar, President Biopharma & Europe: The first round results show prevalent cancers, often late-stage. We expect differences in subsequent rounds, with final results in mid-2026. Q: Regarding the BMJ publication, how does annual MCED screening impact health economics, and is ASP affected by testing frequency? A: Joshua Ofman, President: Annual testing is based on cancer biology and is cost-effective. Current pricing strategies assume annual testing. Health economics are favorable, with lower costs to diagnose cancer compared to single cancer screenings. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Sign in to access your portfolio
