Guardant Health, Inc. $GH Shares Purchased by First Light Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• First Light Asset Management boosted its stake in Guardant Health by 117.3% in Q3 to 280,001 shares (adding 151,133 shares), a position worth about $17.49M that represents ~0.22% of GH and ~1.6% of First Light’s portfolio.
• Guardant’s most recent quarter showed an EPS miss—($0.50) vs. a ($0.43) consensus—while revenue of $281.27M topped estimates and rose 39.4% year‑over‑year.
• Analyst sentiment is largely positive (21 Buys, 1 Hold, 1 Sell) with an average price target of $122.57; the stock has a market cap of ~$11.2B and a 12‑month range of $36.36–$120.74.

First Light Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH - Free Report) by 117.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 280,001 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 151,133 shares during the period. Guardant Health accounts for approximately 1.6% of First Light Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. First Light Asset Management LLC owned about 0.22% of Guardant Health worth $17,494,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Guardant Health by 56.5% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 71,534 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,012,000 after purchasing an additional 25,831 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Guardant Health during the first quarter worth approximately $274,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Guardant Health by 40.5% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 38,622 shares of the company's stock worth $2,010,000 after buying an additional 11,125 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Guardant Health during the second quarter worth $236,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP grew its holdings in Guardant Health by 358.4% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 706 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.60% of the company's stock.

Guardant Health Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of GH opened at $85.49 on Monday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $103.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $90.02. Guardant Health, Inc. has a 12-month low of $36.36 and a 12-month high of $120.74. The firm has a market cap of $11.21 billion, a P/E ratio of -25.83 and a beta of 1.67.

Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.50) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.43) by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $281.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $269.74 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.62) earnings per share. Guardant Health's revenue for the quarter was up 39.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Guardant Health, Inc. will post -2.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on GH. Leerink Partners lifted their price target on Guardant Health from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Guardant Health from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Evercore set a $110.00 price target on shares of Guardant Health in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Guardant Health from $105.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, BTIG Research lifted their price target on shares of Guardant Health from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Twenty-one analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $122.57.

Insider Activity at Guardant Health

In related news, Director Medina Manuel Hidalgo sold 1,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.54, for a total transaction of $119,002.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,193 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $109,207.22. This trade represents a 52.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Terilyn J. Monroe sold 10,031 shares of Guardant Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $112.08, for a total transaction of $1,124,274.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 20,990 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,352,559.20. This trade represents a 32.34% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,018 shares of company stock worth $2,232,911. Company insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

Guardant Health Company 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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