Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 112,713 Shares of Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH)

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. reduced its stake in Guardant Health by 11.7%, owning 850,009 shares worth approximately $36.21 million after selling 112,713 shares in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors have increased their positions in Guardant Health, with 92.60% of the stock currently held by institutional investors and hedge funds.
• Equities analysts have raised their price targets for Guardant Health, with the average price target now at $54.68 and 19 analysts rating the stock as a "buy."

Federated Hermes Inc. cut its stake in Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH - Free Report) by 11.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 850,009 shares of the company's stock after selling 112,713 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. owned approximately 0.69% of Guardant Health worth $36,210,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GH. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Guardant Health by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,052,551 shares of the company's stock worth $368,205,000 after acquiring an additional 350,606 shares during the period. Deep Track Capital LP lifted its holdings in shares of Guardant Health by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Deep Track Capital LP now owns 6,419,566 shares of the company's stock worth $196,118,000 after acquiring an additional 419,006 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in shares of Guardant Health by 96.7% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,315,600 shares of the company's stock worth $70,742,000 after acquiring an additional 1,138,300 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in shares of Guardant Health by 38.5% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,890,714 shares of the company's stock worth $57,761,000 after acquiring an additional 525,368 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Guardant Health during the 4th quarter worth about $36,438,000. 92.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Guardant Health Stock Performance

NASDAQ:GH traded up $0.44 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $41.42. The stock had a trading volume of 3,158,545 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,236,774. Guardant Health, Inc. has a one year low of $20.14 and a one year high of $53.42. The company has a market cap of $5.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.36 and a beta of 1.43. The business's 50 day moving average is $47.21 and its 200-day moving average is $44.89.

Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported ($0.44) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.52) by $0.08. The company had revenue of $232.09 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.19 million. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 31.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.84) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Guardant Health, Inc. will post -2.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Musa Tariq sold 3,213 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.47, for a total transaction of $158,947.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 7,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $355,689.30. This represents a 30.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Amirali Talasaz sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.88, for a total transaction of $5,088,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,971,830 shares of the company's stock, valued at $100,326,710.40. The trade was a 4.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 235,516 shares of company stock valued at $11,848,754. 6.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Guardant Health from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 price target (up from $50.00) on shares of Guardant Health in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Guardant Health from $57.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Guardant Health from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on shares of Guardant Health from $59.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $54.95.

About Guardant Health

Guardant Health, Inc, a precision oncology company, provides blood and tissue tests, data sets, and analytics in the United States and internationally. The company provides Guardant360; Guardant360 LDT; Guardant360 CDx Test; Guardant360 Response Test; Guardant360 TissueNext Test; GuardantINFINITY Test; GuardantConnect, an integrated software-based solution designed for clinical and biopharmaceutical customers to connect patients tested with assays with actionable alterations with potentially relevant clinical studies; GuardantOMNI Test for advanced stage cancer; and GuardantINFORM, an in-silico research platform for tumor evolution and treatment resistance across various biomarker-driven cancers.