UBS Group Begins Coverage on Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH)

Key Points

• UBS Group initiated coverage of Guardant Health with a “buy” rating and a $225 price target, implying 35.78% upside from the prior close. Analysts overall rate the stock “Moderate Buy,” with an average target of $187.71.
• Guardant Health reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, including an adjusted loss of $0.42 per share versus the $0.76 consensus estimate and revenue of $334.98 million, up 44.3% year over year.
• Shares recently traded at $165.71, near their 52-week high of $176.58. Insiders sold 427,024 shares worth $67.1 million in the last quarter, while institutional investors own 92.6% of the company.

Stock analysts at UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH - Get Free Report) in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm set a "buy" rating and a $225.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group's price objective indicates a potential upside of 35.78% from the stock's previous close.

GH has been the topic of several other research reports. BTIG Research restated a "buy" rating and set a $195.00 price target on shares of Guardant Health in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Guardant Health from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Guardant Health in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Guardant Health from $135.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on Guardant Health from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Guardant Health presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $187.71.

Guardant Health Stock Performance

NASDAQ GH traded up $4.72 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $165.71. The stock had a trading volume of 126,538 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,269,408. Guardant Health has a 52-week low of $53.40 and a 52-week high of $176.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $160.27 and a 200 day moving average of $123.62. The stock has a market cap of $22.24 billion, a P/E ratio of -47.54 and a beta of 1.57.

Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported ($0.42) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.76) by $0.34. The business had revenue of $334.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $314.23 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.44) earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 44.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Guardant Health will post -2.98 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Guardant Health news, insider Terilyn Monroe sold 46,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.12, for a total transaction of $7,645,056.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 22,979 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,794,292.48. The trade was a 66.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Amirali Talasaz sold 37,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.16, for a total value of $6,343,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 37,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,343,500. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 427,024 shares of company stock worth $67,113,285 in the last quarter. 5.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Guardant Health

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Orbimed Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Guardant Health during the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,199,000. World Investment Advisors acquired a new position in Guardant Health during the fourth quarter worth $1,664,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in Guardant Health during the second quarter worth $1,772,000. Ninepoint Partners LP purchased a new position in Guardant Health in the second quarter worth $2,853,000. Finally, SWS Partners acquired a new stake in Guardant Health in the second quarter valued at $11,190,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.60% of the company's stock.

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.

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