Alex Azar II Sells 826 Shares of Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH) Stock

Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH) Director Alex Azar II sold 826 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $144,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $144,375. This represents a 50.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Guardant Health Price Performance

GH stock opened at $179.38 on Friday. Guardant Health, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $55.38 and a fifty-two week high of $183.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -51.40 and a beta of 1.57. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $161.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.47.

Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported ($0.42) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.76) by $0.34. The business had revenue of $334.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $314.23 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.44) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 44.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Guardant Health, Inc. will post -2.98 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on GH shares. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Guardant Health from $175.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Guardant Health from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Guardant Health in a research report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Guardant Health from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Guardant Health from $150.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $188.12.

Guardant Health News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Guardant Health this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The FDA-cleared breast cancer application is the most important new catalyst in the latest reports because it validates Guardant Health’s technology in another large cancer market and could support future test volumes and partnerships. Guardant Health lands first FDA-cleared breast cancer liquid biopsy role
• Positive Sentiment: Investor sentiment is also supported by improving sales expectations. Guardant Health’s latest reported quarter produced approximately $335 million in revenue, up 44.3% year over year and above estimates, while its per-share loss was narrower than expected. The stock remains near its 52-week high, indicating that the market is pricing in strong growth and execution. Guardant Health nears buy point as sales outlook brightens
• Neutral Sentiment: A comparison of Guardant Health and Joint Corp. offered little new company-specific information, leaving GH’s valuation and long-term growth prospects as the main issues for investors to assess. Guardant Health and Joint comparison
• Negative Sentiment: Several insiders disclosed sales near $175-$178 per share: a director sold $20,300 of stock, another director sold approximately $145,000, Director Steve Krognes sold about $1.17 million, and CTO Darya Chudova sold roughly $1.38 million. The transactions could weigh on sentiment and signal profit-taking, although they were disclosed as pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan sales. Guardant Health insider sales

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Guardant Health

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GH. Orbimed Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Guardant Health during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $40,199,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Guardant Health in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,772,000. Ninepoint Partners LP acquired a new stake in Guardant Health in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,853,000. SWS Partners bought a new stake in shares of Guardant Health during the second quarter worth $11,190,000. Finally, Eagle Health Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Guardant Health during the second quarter worth $45,112,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.60% of the company’s stock.

Guardant Health Company Profile

Guardant Health, Inc (NASDAQ:GH) is a precision oncology company that develops blood-based diagnostic tests designed to help detect cancer, guide treatment decisions and monitor patients over time. Its liquid biopsy technologies analyze tumor-related signals in blood, reducing the need for tissue biopsies in certain clinical and research settings.

The company’s products include Guardant360 tests, which profile advanced cancers and can help identify potentially actionable genomic alterations; Guardant Reveal, which is used to assess residual disease and recurrence risk; and Guardant Shield, a blood-based screening test for colorectal cancer.