Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH) has received a consensus rating of “Buy” from the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $40.60.

Several equities analysts have commented on GH shares. Leerink Partners lowered their price objective on Guardant Health from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on Guardant Health from $40.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Guardant Health from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Guardant Health from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Meghan V. Joyce sold 2,896 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.90, for a total value of $86,590.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $228,675.20. This trade represents a 27.47 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $81,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 2,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $93,660. The trade was a 46.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,432 shares of company stock worth $175,423 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Guardant Health

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Guardant Health in the fourth quarter worth about $252,000. Fiduciary Alliance LLC lifted its stake in Guardant Health by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Alliance LLC now owns 11,879 shares of the company’s stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 836 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Guardant Health during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $15,624,000. Exome Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Guardant Health by 13.7% in the third quarter. Exome Asset Management LLC now owns 89,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,060,000 after purchasing an additional 10,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Guardant Health by 1.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,822,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,754,000 after purchasing an additional 29,686 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.60% of the company’s stock.

Guardant Health Price Performance

GH stock opened at $37.31 on Friday. Guardant Health has a one year low of $15.81 and a one year high of $39.29. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $33.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.90.

Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.88) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.55) by ($0.33). The company had revenue of $191.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.49 million. Guardant Health had a negative net margin of 74.02% and a negative return on equity of 1,200.44%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 33.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.73) earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Guardant Health will post -3.44 earnings per share for the current year.

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.