Hsbc Holdings PLC Invests $15.91 Million in Guardant Health, Inc. $GH

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings purchased 105,979 Guardant Health shares worth approximately $15.91 million in the second quarter, acquiring a roughly 0.08% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 92.6% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: 23 analysts rate the stock a Buy and one rates it a Strong Buy, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $183.78. Several firms recently raised their targets, including Citigroup to $215.
• Guardant Health reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with a loss of $0.42 per share versus the $0.76 consensus estimate and revenue of $334.98 million, up 44.3% year over year. However, insiders sold 548,318 shares worth $82.5 million over the past 90 days.

Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 105,979 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,910,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned about 0.08% of Guardant Health at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Elyxium Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Guardant Health in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Guardant Health by 164.7% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 352 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Ascentis Independent Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Guardant Health during the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. Hollencrest Capital Management acquired a new stake in Guardant Health during the first quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, EFG International AG acquired a new stake in Guardant Health during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. 92.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Medina Manuel Hidalgo sold 1,700 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.24, for a total transaction of $279,208.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,556 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $748,277.44. This trade represents a 27.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Chris Freeman sold 63,605 shares of Guardant Health stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.58, for a total transaction of $10,786,135.90. Following the sale, the insider owned 65,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,086,122.92. This represents a 49.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 548,318 shares of company stock worth $82,501,873 over the last ninety days. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on GH. Citigroup raised their price target on Guardant Health from $150.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. BTIG Research increased their target price on Guardant Health from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Guardant Health in a research report on Tuesday. Guggenheim raised their target price on Guardant Health from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Guardant Health in a report on Friday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $183.78.

Guardant Health Trading Down 1.4%

GH opened at $168.52 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average is $156.90 and its 200-day moving average is $120.47. The stock has a market cap of $22.62 billion, a PE ratio of -48.29 and a beta of 1.60. Guardant Health, Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.40 and a twelve month high of $176.58.

Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported ($0.42) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.76) by $0.34. The business had revenue of $334.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $314.23 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.44) earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 44.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Guardant Health, Inc. will post -2.98 EPS for the current year.

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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