Caxton Associates LLP Invests $831,000 in Guardant Health, Inc. $GH

Key Points

• Caxton Associates initiated an $831,000 position in Guardant Health during the first quarter by purchasing 8,999 shares. Institutional investors collectively own 92.6% of the company.
• Guardant Health shares opened at $147.33, near their 52-week high of $174.08, with a market capitalization of approximately $19.54 billion. The stock’s 50-day and 200-day moving averages were $139.41 and $112.02, respectively.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with 23 Buy and one Strong Buy rating versus one Sell rating and a consensus price target of $160.04. However, insiders have sold about $90.6 million in shares over the past 90 days.

Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in shares of Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 8,999 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $831,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new stake in Guardant Health in the third quarter worth $114,421,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Guardant Health by 33.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,636,078 shares of the company's stock worth $575,670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,414,441 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Guardant Health during the fourth quarter valued at $128,499,000. Summit Partners Public Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Guardant Health by 674.5% during the fourth quarter. Summit Partners Public Asset Management LLC now owns 851,958 shares of the company's stock valued at $87,019,000 after purchasing an additional 741,958 shares during the period. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in shares of Guardant Health in the fourth quarter worth about $55,073,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.60% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Guardant Health

In other Guardant Health news, Director Myrtle S. Potter sold 1,556 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.16, for a total transaction of $204,084.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 20,971 shares in the company, valued at $2,750,556.36. This represents a 6.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Helmy Eltoukhy sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.30, for a total value of $12,630,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,012,919 shares in the company, valued at $254,231,669.70. This trade represents a 4.73% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 708,565 shares of company stock valued at $90,556,597 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

Guardant Health Stock Performance

NASDAQ GH opened at $147.33 on Monday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $139.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $112.02. Guardant Health, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.35 and a 52-week high of $174.08. The company has a market cap of $19.54 billion, a PE ratio of -43.46 and a beta of 1.59.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Guardant Health in a research note on Monday, July 6th. BTIG Research boosted their price objective on shares of Guardant Health from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Piper Sandler set a $127.00 target price on shares of Guardant Health in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Guardant Health from $150.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Guardant Health in a report on Friday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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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