Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.34 EPS

Key Points

• Guardant Health beat quarterly expectations: EPS came in at a loss of $0.42 versus the expected loss of $0.76, while revenue reached $335 million, up 44.3% year over year and above estimates.
• Shield screening continued to gain traction, with revenue rising to $53 million from $15 million and approximately 66,000 tests completed. New guideline inclusion and UnitedHealthcare coverage expanded potential access to roughly 70 million lives.
• The company raised 2026 revenue guidance to $1.34 billion-$1.36 billion but expects higher operating expenses and free-cash-flow burn as it expands Shield capacity and its commercial infrastructure; management maintained its goal of cash-flow breakeven by the end of 2027.

Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH - Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported ($0.42) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.76) by $0.34, FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $334.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $314.23 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.44) EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 44.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Here are the key takeaways from Guardant Health's conference call:

• Q2 revenue rose 44% year over year to $335 million, with broad-based growth across oncology, biopharma and data, and screening. Oncology testing volume increased 63% to approximately 104,000 tests, while Reveal volume more than doubled.
• Shield revenue increased to $53 million from $15 million a year earlier on approximately 66,000 tests. Inclusion in American Cancer Society guidelines and UnitedHealthcare coverage beginning August 1 expanded coverage to an estimated 70 million lives, or roughly 60% of the U.S. addressable market.
• The company raised 2026 revenue guidance to $1.34 billion-$1.36 billion, including Shield revenue of $218 million-$230 million and 270,000-285,000 Shield tests. Management also reaffirmed its goal of company-wide cash-flow breakeven by the end of 2027.
• Guardant received FDA approval for Guardant360 Liquid CDx and a higher-throughput, lower-cost Shield workflow. Guardant expects Shield cost per test to fall roughly 15% by the end of 2026 from approximately $410, with a longer-term target of $200 by 2028.
• The company is increasing investment to expand Shield laboratory capacity and commercial infrastructure, raising expected 2026 operating expenses to $1.08 billion-$1.10 billion and full-year free-cash-flow burn to $195 million-$205 million. Management said additional commercial payer wins are not included in current guidance, and reimbursement timing for Reveal remains uncertain.

Guardant Health Stock Up 5.7%

NASDAQ GH traded up $8.28 during trading on Thursday, hitting $152.35. The stock had a trading volume of 2,709,421 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,309,924. The company has a market capitalization of $20.20 billion, a PE ratio of -44.94 and a beta of 1.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $141.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $112.74. Guardant Health has a twelve month low of $40.35 and a twelve month high of $174.08.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on GH shares. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Guardant Health in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $185.00 price target for the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Guardant Health from $135.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Guardant Health from $150.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Guardant Health in a research note on Friday, June 5th. They set a "buy" rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Guardant Health from $120.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Guardant Health presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $160.04.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Guardant Health news, insider Chris Freeman sold 24,406 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.67, for a total value of $2,896,260.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 60,034 shares in the company, valued at $7,124,234.78. The trade was a 28.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Helmy Eltoukhy sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.30, for a total value of $12,630,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,012,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $254,231,669.70. This trade represents a 4.73% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 708,565 shares of company stock valued at $90,556,597. 5.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Guardant Health

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Guardant Health by 33.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,636,078 shares of the company's stock worth $575,670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,414,441 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Guardant Health by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,441,730 shares of the company's stock valued at $249,398,000 after buying an additional 72,162 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Guardant Health by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,031,562 shares of the company's stock valued at $207,504,000 after acquiring an additional 255,193 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Guardant Health in the third quarter valued at approximately $114,421,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Guardant Health by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,457,676 shares of the company's stock valued at $148,887,000 after acquiring an additional 41,792 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.60% of the company's stock.

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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