Guardant Health Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:GH)

Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Stock investors purchased 5,660 call options on the company. This is an increase of 175% compared to the typical volume of 2,057 call options.

Guardant Health Stock Up 9.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:GH opened at $17.59 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.11. Guardant Health has a twelve month low of $15.81 and a twelve month high of $41.06. The company has a current ratio of 6.54, a quick ratio of 6.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.18. The company has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a PE ratio of -4.11 and a beta of 0.87.

Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported ($1.58) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.93) by ($0.65). The firm had revenue of $155.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $151.71 million. Guardant Health had a negative net margin of 85.02% and a negative return on equity of 301.94%. On average, equities analysts predict that Guardant Health will post -3.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on GH shares. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on shares of Guardant Health from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Guardant Health in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Guardant Health from $40.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Guardant Health from $60.00 to $45.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Guardant Health from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Kumud Kalia acquired 2,187 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $17.82 per share, for a total transaction of $38,972.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,722 shares in the company, valued at $226,706.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 6.20% 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 stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Guardant Health by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,950,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $324,565,000 after buying an additional 146,902 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Guardant Health by 2.9% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 568,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,840,000 after purchasing an additional 16,111 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in Guardant Health during the third quarter worth about $1,689,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Guardant Health by 5.8% in the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 159,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,732,000 after purchasing an additional 8,688 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Guardant Health by 31.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,211,499 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,909,000 after purchasing an additional 292,888 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.60% of the company’s stock.

About Guardant Health

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.