Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH) Director Alex Azar II Sells 69 Shares of Stock

Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH) Director Alex Azar II sold 69 shares of Guardant Health stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.89, for a total value of $11,032.41. Following the sale, the director owned 893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $142,781.77. This trade represents a 7.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Guardant Health Trading Up 1.8%

GH stock opened at $165.88 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $168.14 and its 200 day moving average is $139.02. The stock has a market cap of $22.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -47.53 and a beta of 1.58. Guardant Health, Inc. has a 1-year low of $64.00 and a 1-year high of $191.05.

Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported ($0.42) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.76) by $0.34. The company had revenue of $334.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $314.23 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.44) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 44.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Guardant Health, Inc. will post -3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on GH. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Guardant Health in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Rothschild & Co Redburn assumed coverage on shares of Guardant Health in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $203.00 target price for the company. UBS Group increased their target price on Guardant Health from $175.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Citigroup raised their price target on Guardant Health from $150.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target on Guardant Health from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Guardant Health currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $190.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Guardant Health

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. ABS Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Guardant Health during the 2nd quarter valued at $345,069,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in shares of Guardant Health in the second quarter valued at about $208,592,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Guardant Health in the second quarter valued at about $196,737,000. Summit Partners Public Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Guardant Health by 674.5% during the fourth quarter. Summit Partners Public Asset Management LLC now owns 851,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,019,000 after acquiring an additional 741,958 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Light Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Guardant Health by 57.5% during the second quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 441,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,251,000 after acquiring an additional 161,287 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.60% of the company’s stock.

About Guardant Health

Guardant Health, Inc (NASDAQ: GH) is a precision oncology company that develops blood- and tissue-based diagnostic tests designed to help detect cancer, guide treatment decisions and monitor patients throughout the course of their disease. Its testing platforms analyze circulating tumor DNA and other genomic information to provide insights into a tumor’s molecular characteristics.

The company’s products include Guardant360 tests for comprehensive genomic profiling in advanced cancer, Guardant360 CDx, which is approved as a companion diagnostic for certain targeted therapies, and Guardant360 Response for assessing how a tumor may be responding to treatment.