Relay Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RLAY) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume on Analyst Upgrade

Relay Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:RLAY) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday after JonesTrading upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. Approximately 3,223,328 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 9% from the previous session’s volume of 2,958,564 shares.The stock last traded at $14.5950 and had previously closed at $13.02.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Relay Therapeutics from $13.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. HC Wainwright raised their target price on shares of Relay Therapeutics from $19.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Citigroup reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Relay Therapeutics in a report on Wednesday. Citizens Jmp boosted their price target on Relay Therapeutics from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Relay Therapeutics from $21.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $22.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Relay Therapeutics

In other news, CFO Thomas Catinazzo sold 17,717 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.86, for a total transaction of $227,840.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 195,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,509,989.08. This trade represents a 8.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold 40,449 shares of company stock valued at $532,889 over the last 90 days. 5.04% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Relay Therapeutics

Here are the key news stories impacting Relay Therapeutics this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Relay Therapeutics received upgraded analyst sentiment, including a JonesTrading upgrade to strong-buy and recent price-target increases from other firms, reinforcing optimism around the stock’s longer-term upside. Zacks.com
• Positive Sentiment: Investors continue reacting to encouraging clinical data for zovegalisib, Relay’s lead asset, including early results in vascular anomalies that suggest differentiated safety and efficacy and could expand the drug’s commercial potential beyond breast cancer.
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also announced a $275 million public offering priced at $12 per share, which should strengthen the balance sheet and fund development, but it also adds new shares to the market. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term pressure likely came from the dilution risk tied to the share offering, which can weigh on existing shareholders even though it improves financing flexibility.
• Negative Sentiment: Relay had previously disclosed a smaller proposed offering, adding to investor focus on capital raising rather than just pipeline progress. Article Title

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Relay Therapeutics by 86.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,937,695 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,280,000 after purchasing an additional 896,746 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Relay Therapeutics by 77.8% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 65,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $652,000 after purchasing an additional 28,700 shares in the last quarter. Amundi bought a new position in shares of Relay Therapeutics during the first quarter worth approximately $213,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of Relay Therapeutics by 47.9% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 174,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,732,000 after buying an additional 56,422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EcoR1 Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Relay Therapeutics in the first quarter valued at approximately $18,952,000. 96.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Relay Therapeutics Stock Up 10.8%

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.76 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.19 and a beta of 1.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $12.62 and a 200-day moving average of $9.66.

Relay Therapeutics (NASDAQ:RLAY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported ($0.41) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.35) by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $3.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.58 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Relay Therapeutics, Inc. will post -1.6 EPS for the current year.

About Relay Therapeutics

Relay Therapeutics, Inc is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of precision therapies for oncology. Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the company was founded in 2016 with the goal of targeting dynamic protein motion using an integrated scientific platform. Relay Therapeutics leverages computational modeling, structural biology, and experimental validation to identify small-molecule drug candidates that modulate the behavior of disease-associated proteins.

The company’s core business activity centers on its proprietary drug-discovery engine, which combines high-performance computing—including molecular dynamics simulations—with advanced experimental techniques such as cryo-electron microscopy and biophysical screening.