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Illumina's Stock Falls 9 Percent on Grail Acquisition Rumors

NEW YORK – Shares of Illumina have fallen 9 percent from the Wednesday market open and 23 percent from the intraday high on rumors the sequencing giant will acquire liquid biopsy firm Grail.

Following a short rise to an intraday high of $366.01, Illumina's share price fell to $320.70 in afternoon trading on the Nasdaq.

According to a Wednesday report from Bloomberg, San Diego-based Illumina could end up paying as much as $8 billion for a firm it helped launch in 2016 and already owns more than 10 percent of. Illumina spun out Grail in 2016 with a focus on early cancer detection in otherwise healthy people.

The news comes just a week after Menlo Park, California-based Grail filed for an initial public offering with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. As reported by GenomeWeb, Grail is seeking expanded indications for its early cancer detection technology, including a diagnostic test separate from its plans for cancer screening.

Illumina and Grail did not respond to request for comment on the rumored deal. As of June 30, Illumina had $1.77 billion in cash and cash equivalents and $1.5 billion in short-term investments.

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