Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 123,826 Shares of Guardant Health, Inc. $GH

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors cut its Guardant Health position by 40.4% in the first quarter, selling 123,826 shares and retaining 182,727 shares valued at approximately $16.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.6% of the company.
• Guardant Health insiders have also been selling shares: CEO Helmy Eltoukhy sold $12.6 million worth, while insiders sold 724,445 shares valued at $93.1 million over the past 90 days.
• Despite the selling, Guardant Health shares rose 6.9% to $168.48, near their 12-month high, and analysts maintained a broadly positive outlook with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $183.78.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lowered its position in Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH - Free Report) by 40.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 182,727 shares of the company's stock after selling 123,826 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.14% of Guardant Health worth $16,857,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. First Pacific Financial increased its stake in Guardant Health by 33.1% in the 1st quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 559 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Xponance LLC raised its stake in Guardant Health by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 9,630 shares of the company's stock valued at $984,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S lifted its position in Guardant Health by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 1,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $123,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Investors Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Spolka Akcyjna lifted its position in Guardant Health by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Investors Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Spolka Akcyjna now owns 11,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,124,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its position in Guardant Health by 7.2% during the first quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 3,042 shares of the company's stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.60% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Guardant Health

In related news, insider Chris Freeman sold 24,406 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.67, for a total transaction of $2,896,260.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 60,034 shares in the company, valued at $7,124,234.78. The trade was a 28.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Helmy Eltoukhy sold 100,000 shares of Guardant Health stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.30, for a total transaction of $12,630,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,012,919 shares in the company, valued at $254,231,669.70. This represents a 4.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 724,445 shares of company stock worth $93,089,291. 5.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Guardant Health Trading Up 6.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:GH opened at $168.48 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.61 billion, a PE ratio of -48.27 and a beta of 1.60. Guardant Health, Inc. has a 12-month low of $51.44 and a 12-month high of $176.58. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $147.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $115.20.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Guardant Health from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Guardant Health from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Guardant Health in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Guardant Health from $135.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Guggenheim upped 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, July 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $183.78.

Guardant Health Profile

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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