Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH) Trading 5.4% Higher – Time to Buy?

Shares of Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH) were up 5.4% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $175.74 and last traded at $176.8570. 939,987 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 2,247,558 shares. The stock had previously closed at $167.84.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on GH shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Guardant Health from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Rothschild & Co Redburn initiated coverage on shares of Guardant Health in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $203.00 price target on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Guardant Health in a research report on Thursday, September 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Guardant Health in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Guardant Health in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $188.12.

Guardant Health Trading Up 5.6%

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $159.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $125.37. The company has a market capitalization of $23.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -50.80 and a beta of 1.57.

Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported ($0.42) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.76) by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $334.98 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $314.23 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.44) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 44.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Guardant Health, Inc. will post -2.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Guardant Health

In related news, CEO Amirali Talasaz sold 143,028 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.54, for a total transaction of $21,674,463.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,881,336 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $285,097,657.44. This represents a 7.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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. Also, Director Ian T. Clark sold 14,180 shares of Guardant Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.92, for a total transaction of $2,253,485.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $472,787. This trade represents a 82.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 426,908 shares of company stock worth $67,098,183. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Guardant Health

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GH. Revere Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Guardant Health in the 2nd quarter worth $3,994,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Guardant Health in the 2nd quarter valued at $216,000. First Light Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Guardant Health by 57.5% in the 2nd quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 441,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,251,000 after purchasing an additional 161,287 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Guardant Health by 43.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 24,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,690,000 after purchasing an additional 7,473 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in Guardant Health by 755.0% in the 2nd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 171 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.60% of the company’s stock.

About Guardant Health

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.