Grifols (NASDAQ:GRFS) Sees Large Volume Increase – Time to Buy?

Grifols, S.A. (NASDAQ:GRFS) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 1,121,503 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 65% from the previous session’s volume of 679,574 shares.The stock last traded at $8.2210 and had previously closed at $8.00.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GRFS. Wall Street Zen cut Grifols from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Weiss Ratings lowered Grifols from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research raised Grifols from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $10.00.

Grifols Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $5.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.32 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $7.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.18.

Grifols Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a special dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.0945 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 2nd. Grifols’s payout ratio is 121.05%.

Institutional Trading of Grifols

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Grifols by 13.8% during the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 592,173 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,193,000 after buying an additional 72,037 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Grifols by 36.0% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 6,958 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,842 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Grifols by 71.6% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,685 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $118,000 after acquiring an additional 6,127 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Grifols by 15.4% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 785,703 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,301,000 after acquiring an additional 104,850 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in Grifols by 42.0% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 352,798 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,829,000 after acquiring an additional 104,418 shares during the period.

Grifols Company Profile

Grifols, Inc (NASDAQ: GRFS) is a global healthcare company specializing in the development, manufacture and marketing of plasma-derived medicines, diagnostic systems and hospital supplies. With a core focus on immunotherapy and transfusion medicine, the company harnesses human plasma proteins to create therapies that treat a wide range of bleeding disorders, immunodeficiencies and neurological conditions. Grifols also supplies reagents and diagnostic instruments for transfusion centers and clinical laboratories, alongside intravenous solutions and medical devices for hospital use.

The company operates three main business units.