Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH) Stock Has Average Price Target of $190.00

Key Points

• Analysts remain bullish on Guardant Health: Twenty-three of 25 analysts rate the stock a buy, one rates it a strong buy, and one recommends selling. The average 12-month price target is $190, with recent targets ranging from $190 to $225.
• Quarterly results exceeded expectations: Guardant Health reported an adjusted loss of $0.42 per share versus the expected $0.76 loss, while revenue reached $334.98 million, up 44.3% year over year and above estimates.
• Institutional ownership is high, but insiders have been selling: Institutional investors own 92.6% of the stock, while insiders sold approximately $30.1 million worth of shares over the past 90 days.

Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-five ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, twenty-three have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $190.00.

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Guardant Health from $135.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Guardant Health from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Guardant Health from $150.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Guardant Health from $135.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Guardant Health from $175.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th.

Guardant Health Stock Up 2.5%

NASDAQ:GH opened at $166.66 on Thursday. The company's 50 day moving average is $167.73 and its 200-day moving average is $141.01. Guardant Health has a 12 month low of $66.59 and a 12 month high of $191.05. The firm has a market cap of $22.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -47.75 and a beta of 1.58.

Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported ($0.42) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.76) by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $334.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $314.23 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.44) earnings per share. Guardant Health's quarterly revenue was up 44.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Guardant Health will post -3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Guardant Health news, CTO Darya Chudova sold 7,738 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.00, for a total value of $1,377,364.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 70,635 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,573,030. This trade represents a 9.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Alex Azar, II sold 826 shares of Guardant Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $144,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $144,375. This represents a 50.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 178,940 shares of company stock worth $30,070,911 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Guardant Health

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GH. ABS Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Guardant Health during the second quarter worth $345,069,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in Guardant Health during the 2nd quarter valued at $208,592,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Guardant Health in the 2nd quarter valued at $196,737,000. First Light Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in 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. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in Guardant Health by 159.9% in the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 301,041 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,165,000 after purchasing an additional 185,200 shares during the period. 92.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Guardant Health

Guardant Health, Inc NASDAQ: GH is a precision oncology company that develops blood-based tests and data solutions designed to help detect cancer, guide treatment decisions and monitor patients over time. Its technologies analyze circulating tumor DNA and other molecular information from blood samples, supporting more accessible and less invasive alternatives to some tissue-based testing approaches.

The company's products include Guardant360, which helps identify genomic alterations in advanced cancers and may inform targeted treatment selection; Guardant360 Response, designed to assess a patient's response to therapy; and Guardant Reveal, which is used to detect minimal residual disease and recurrence risk in certain cancers.

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