Guardant Health, Inc. $GH Position Increased by Casdin Capital LLC

Key Points

• Casdin Capital LLC sharply increased its stake in Guardant Health by 280% in the fourth quarter, buying an additional 280,000 shares to bring its total to 380,000 shares worth about $38.8 million.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish on the stock, with multiple firms raising price targets and the consensus rating sitting at “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $141.95.
• Insiders have been selling shares recently, including notable sales by John G. Saia and Meghan V. Joyce, while corporate insiders still own 5.6% of the company.

Casdin Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH - Free Report) by 280.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 380,000 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 280,000 shares during the quarter. Guardant Health makes up 2.4% of Casdin Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Casdin Capital LLC owned 0.30% of Guardant Health worth $38,813,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in Guardant Health by 19.5% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 844 shares of the company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank lifted its position in shares of Guardant Health by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 2,160 shares of the company's stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Xponance LLC lifted its position in shares of Guardant Health by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 9,630 shares of the company's stock valued at $984,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S lifted its position in shares of Guardant Health by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 1,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investors Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Spolka Akcyjna lifted its position in shares of Guardant Health by 1.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 92.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GH. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Guardant Health from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Guardant Health in a research report on Friday, June 5th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $165.00 price objective on the stock. Mizuho upped their price objective on Guardant Health from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. BTIG Research set a $160.00 price objective on Guardant Health and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Guardant Health from $120.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Guardant Health has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $141.95.

Insider Transactions at Guardant Health

In related news, insider John G. Saia sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.51, for a total value of $2,130,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 45,950 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,894,134.50. This represents a 30.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Meghan V. Joyce sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.98, for a total value of $1,269,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,183 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,420,017.34. The trade was a 47.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 449,006 shares of company stock valued at $51,148,938. Corporate insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

Guardant Health Trading Up 1.4%

Guardant Health stock opened at $129.11 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.12 billion, a P/E ratio of -38.09 and a beta of 1.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $105.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $102.51. Guardant Health, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.35 and a 52 week high of $135.00.

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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