3 Reasons to Buy Grail (GRAL) Hand Over Fist in October

Grail (NASDAQ: GRAL), which was spun off from Illumina (NASDAQ: ILMN) in 2024, develops a blood test for detecting signals from dozens of cancers before any symptoms appear. Its stock endured some wild swings over the past two years, but it now trades near a record high. Let's see why Grail's stock is soaring -- and the three main reasons it's still worth buying today.

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1. Grail already generates plenty of revenue

Grail isn't a speculative, pre-revenue company. The FDA hasn't approved Grail's Galleri blood test yet. Still, it's already sold on a cash-only basis (for $749 to $949) to independent customers, select employers, hospital pilot programs, and telehealth services.

Grail's revenue from those cash sales rose from $93 million in 2023 to $147 million in 2025, and analysts expect that figure to rise 23% to $181 million in 2026. In the first half of 2026, Galleri's test volume grew 42% year over year to over 117,000 tests. If the FDA approves Galleri, its addressable market would significantly expand through private insurance and Medicare plans.

2. A premarket approval could come in 2027

Back in February, Grail suffered a major setback after its largest NHS England trial failed to meet its primary endpoint. That trial wasn't a total failure -- since it achieved earlier detection rates for the deadliest cancers -- but it reduced its chances of a brisk FDA approval.

But in late September, an FDA panel endorsed a premarket approval for Galleri with three votes. The FDA panel voted affirmatively on these three questions: whether Galleri was safe for patients who met its criteria, if it was effective, and if its benefits outweighed the risks. Those endorsements were non-binding, but they could support its premarket approval by 2027.

3. Grail's stock still looks reasonably valued

From 2025 to 2028, analysts expect Grail's revenue to grow at a 25% CAGR to $286 million. With a market cap of $6.1 billion, it already trades at 21 times its 2028 sales.

That price-to-sales ratio might seem high, but most analysts' estimates are still based on its cash-only sales rather than a full FDA approval. If the FDA approves Galleri ahead of schedule, and it's widely adopted as a covered cancer detection test, it could crush Wall Street's forecasts.

Therefore, Grail could actually be a bargain relative to its long-term growth potential. It's not a stock for queasy investors, but it's worth buying today if you can tune out the near-term noise.

Leo Sun has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Illumina. The Motley Fool recommends Grail. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.