Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $152.19 and last traded at $149.6370, with a volume of 4450 shares. The stock had previously closed at $149.22.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on GH. Piper Sandler set a $127.00 price target on shares of Guardant Health in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Guardant Health in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Mizuho boosted their target price on Guardant Health from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Guardant Health in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on Guardant Health from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $144.82.

Guardant Health Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $19.89 billion, a PE ratio of -44.26 and a beta of 1.61. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $115.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $104.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Guardant Health

In related news, CEO Amirali Talasaz sold 143,028 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.54, for a total transaction of $21,674,463.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,881,336 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $285,097,657.44. This trade represents a 7.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Myrtle S. Potter sold 1,556 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.16, for a total value of $204,084.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,750,556.36. The trade was a 6.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 712,513 shares of company stock valued at $90,921,587. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in GH. World Investment Advisors bought a new position in Guardant Health in the fourth quarter worth about $1,664,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its stake in Guardant Health by 57.8% during the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 305,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,066,000 after buying an additional 111,822 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC boosted its stake in Guardant Health by 169.1% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 120,114 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,505,000 after purchasing an additional 75,474 shares in the last quarter. Iron Triangle Partners LP boosted its stake in Guardant Health by 33.3% in the 3rd quarter. Iron Triangle Partners LP now owns 400,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,992,000 after purchasing an additional 100,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd grew its position in Guardant Health by 197.8% during the 4th quarter. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd now owns 107,787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,009,000 after purchasing an additional 71,587 shares during the last quarter. 92.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Guardant Health

Guardant Health, Inc is a precision oncology company specializing in blood-based cancer diagnostics. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Redwood City, California, the company develops non-invasive tests that use circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) to profile genomic alterations in patients with solid tumors. Guardant Health’s mission is to advance cancer care by providing actionable data to clinicians, pharmaceutical partners and researchers worldwide.

The company’s flagship product, Guardant360, is a next-generation sequencing (NGS) assay designed to detect mutations, copy number variations and select fusions in more than 70 cancer-related genes.