Exome Asset Management LLC Sells 15,446 Shares of Guardant Health, Inc. $GH

Key Points

• Exome Asset Management reduced its Guardant Health stake by 15.7%, selling 15,446 shares and retaining 82,736 shares valued at approximately $7.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 92.6% of the company.
• Guardant Health insiders have also been selling shares: the CEO sold 100,000 shares and the CFO sold 2,000 shares on June 5, while insiders sold 708,565 shares worth about $90.6 million over the past three months.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $160.04. Recent target increases ranged from $165 to $215, while shares opened at $145.47 after falling 1.3%.

Exome Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH - Free Report) by 15.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 82,736 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,446 shares during the quarter. Guardant Health accounts for 4.0% of Exome Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Exome Asset Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Guardant Health worth $7,642,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. World Investment Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Guardant Health in the 4th quarter worth $1,664,000. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd boosted its position in shares of Guardant Health by 197.8% in the 4th quarter. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd now owns 107,787 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,009,000 after purchasing an additional 71,587 shares during the period. Orbimed Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Guardant Health in the 1st quarter worth about $40,199,000. F m Investments LLC raised its holdings in Guardant Health by 24.1% during the 4th quarter. F m Investments LLC now owns 58,567 shares of the company's stock worth $5,982,000 after buying an additional 11,363 shares during the period. Finally, Legato Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Guardant Health by 140.7% during the fourth quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 26,076 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,663,000 after buying an additional 15,241 shares in the last quarter. 92.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Guardant Health

In related news, CFO Michael Brian Bell sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.62, for a total transaction of $257,240.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 47,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,110,607.58. This trade represents a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Helmy Eltoukhy sold 100,000 shares of Guardant Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.30, for a total transaction of $12,630,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,012,919 shares of the company's stock, valued at $254,231,669.70. This trade represents a 4.73% 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. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GH. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Guardant Health from $130.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on shares of Guardant Health from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Guardant Health in a report on Friday, June 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $165.00 target price for the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Guardant Health from $150.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Guardant Health in a research report on Monday, July 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $160.04.

Guardant Health Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:GH opened at $145.47 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $19.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -42.91 and a beta of 1.59. Guardant Health, Inc. has a 1 year low of $40.35 and a 1 year high of $174.08. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $140.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $112.25.

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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