California State Teachers Retirement System Increases Stake in Guardant Health, Inc. $GH

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System increased its Guardant Health stake by 16,079.2% to 21.13 million shares, representing 15.75% of the company and approximately $3.17 billion in value. Institutional investors collectively own 92.6% of GH.
• Guardant Health reported a quarterly loss of $0.42 per share, beating estimates by $0.34, while revenue rose 44.3% year over year to $334.98 million, above analyst expectations.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $188.12. However, insiders sold 427,024 shares worth approximately $67.1 million over the past three months.

California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH - Free Report) by 16,079.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,129,925 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 20,999,326 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 15.75% of Guardant Health worth $3,170,123,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. ABS Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Guardant Health in the 2nd quarter worth $345,069,000. TrinityBridge Ltd bought a new position in shares of Guardant Health in the second quarter worth about $45,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Guardant Health during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Guardant Health by 164.7% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 352 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Guardant Health during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Institutional investors own 92.60% of the company's stock.

Guardant Health Stock Performance

GH opened at $159.03 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -45.57 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a fifty day moving average of $159.93 and a 200 day moving average of $124.41. Guardant Health, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.40 and a fifty-two week high of $176.58.

Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH - Get Free Report) last issued 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 analysts' expectations of $314.23 million. The firm's revenue was up 44.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.44) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Guardant Health, Inc. will post -2.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Guardant Health

In other Guardant Health news, Director Ian Clark sold 14,180 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.92, for a total transaction of $2,253,485.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,975 shares in the company, valued at $472,787. The trade was a 82.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Chris Freeman sold 63,605 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.58, for a total transaction of $10,786,135.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 65,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,086,122.92. This represents a 49.31% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 427,024 shares of company stock valued at $67,113,285 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on GH. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Guardant Health from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Guardant Health from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Guardant Health in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $150.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Guardant Health in a report on Thursday. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $188.12.

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.

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