Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Lowers Position in Guardant Health, Inc. $GH

Key Points

• Allspring Global Investments slightly reduced its stake in Guardant Health by 1.6% in the first quarter, though it still held 608,826 shares valued at about $55.5 million.
• Several other institutional investors also adjusted their positions, and hedge funds now own 92.6% of the company’s stock, indicating heavy institutional interest.
• Wall Street remains upbeat on GH, with multiple firms raising price targets and the stock currently carrying a Moderate Buy consensus rating and an average target of $160.04.

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC trimmed its position in shares of Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH - Free Report) by 1.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 608,826 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,773 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned approximately 0.46% of Guardant Health worth $55,494,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GH. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Guardant Health by 56.5% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 71,534 shares of the company's stock worth $3,012,000 after acquiring an additional 25,831 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Guardant Health during the first quarter valued at approximately $274,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in shares of Guardant Health by 15.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 77,308 shares of the company's stock worth $4,023,000 after purchasing an additional 10,538 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of Guardant Health by 9.4% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 632,630 shares of the company's stock worth $32,922,000 after purchasing an additional 54,284 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Guardant Health by 56.4% in the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 111,445 shares of the company's stock worth $5,800,000 after purchasing an additional 40,209 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.60% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John G. Saia sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.51, for a total value of $2,130,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 45,950 shares in the company, valued at $4,894,134.50. This trade represents a 30.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Chris Freeman sold 24,406 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.67, for a total value of $2,896,260.02. Following the sale, the insider owned 60,034 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,124,234.78. This represents a 28.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 708,565 shares of company stock worth $90,556,597. Insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

Guardant Health Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of GH stock opened at $155.87 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $134.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $110.26. Guardant Health, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.35 and a 52 week high of $174.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.67 billion, a PE ratio of -45.98 and a beta of 1.59.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on GH shares. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Guardant Health from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. BTIG Research boosted their target price on Guardant Health from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. UBS Group set a $150.00 target price on Guardant Health in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on Guardant Health in a report on Thursday, June 11th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $185.00 price target for the company. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Guardant Health in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Guardant Health has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $160.04.

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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