Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH) Trading Up 9.8% – What’s Next?

Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH)’s stock price shot up 9.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $39.77 and last traded at $39.34. 275,606 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 2,115,893 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.84.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Guardant Health from $42.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Guardant Health from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $56.00 price objective on shares of Guardant Health in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Barclays began coverage on shares of Guardant Health in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $60.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Guardant Health from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Guardant Health has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $48.40.

Guardant Health Stock Up 13.8 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.03 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.45 and a beta of 1.50. The business’s 50 day moving average is $42.06 and its 200-day moving average is $32.46.

Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported ($0.90) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.75) by ($0.15). Guardant Health had a negative net margin of 59.05% and a negative return on equity of 19,157.20%. The business had revenue of $201.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $192.50 million. Research analysts forecast that Guardant Health, Inc. will post -2.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Musa Tariq sold 2,320 shares of Guardant Health stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $81,200.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $93,660. This trade represents a 46.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 2,668 shares of company stock worth $95,208 in the last three months. 5.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Guardant Health

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Guardant Health by 188.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,127,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,325,000 after buying an additional 6,618,785 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Guardant Health in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,438,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in Guardant Health by 96.7% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,315,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,742,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138,300 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in Guardant Health by 1,282.5% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,226,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,128,000 after purchasing an additional 1,137,482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Guardant Health in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $21,389,000. 92.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Guardant Health Company Profile

Guardant Health, Inc, a precision oncology company, provides blood and tissue tests, data sets, and analytics in the United States and internationally. The company provides Guardant360; Guardant360 LDT; Guardant360 CDx Test; Guardant360 Response Test; Guardant360 TissueNext Test; GuardantINFINITY Test; GuardantConnect, an integrated software-based solution designed for clinical and biopharmaceutical customers to connect patients tested with assays with actionable alterations with potentially relevant clinical studies; GuardantOMNI Test for advanced stage cancer; and GuardantINFORM, an in-silico research platform for tumor evolution and treatment resistance across various biomarker-driven cancers.