Guardian Pharmacy Services, Inc. (NYSE:GRDN) Given Average Recommendation of "Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: Eight analysts give Guardian Pharmacy Services an average rating of "Buy" (six Buy, one Hold, one Strong Buy) with a 12‑month average target price of $40.20.
• Significant insider selling: Insiders including Kendall Forbes and David K. Morris sold large blocks on March 20 (combined transactions shown at roughly $15.9M), and insiders have sold 9,726,405 shares valued at $288.68M over the last three months while owning 32.96% of the company.
• Recent results and valuation: Q3 EPS beat expectations ($0.37 vs. $0.27) and revenue rose 17.4% to $397.6M; the company has a $2.34B market cap, a P/E of 48, and the stock is trading near $36.96 with a 12‑month range of $19.17–$41.36.

Shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services, Inc. (NYSE:GRDN - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Buy" by the eight analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $40.20.

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services in a report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services in a report on Monday, March 30th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $44.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 13th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Guardian Pharmacy Services

In other news, insider Kendall Forbes sold 346,672 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.68, for a total transaction of $10,289,224.96. Following the sale, the insider owned 453,256 shares in the company, valued at $13,452,638.08. The trade was a 43.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider David K. Morris sold 187,855 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.68, for a total transaction of $5,575,536.40. Following the sale, the insider owned 254,472 shares in the company, valued at $7,552,728.96. This represents a 42.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 9,726,405 shares of company stock valued at $288,679,700 over the last three months. 32.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Guardian Pharmacy Services

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Valiant Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. Valiant Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,232,463 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,085,000 after acquiring an additional 167,741 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services by 3.3% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,143,729 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000,000 after acquiring an additional 36,072 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services by 8.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,056,240 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,705,000 after acquiring an additional 80,033 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services by 9.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,055,102 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,675,000 after acquiring an additional 88,296 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,054,636 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,995,000 after acquiring an additional 7,759 shares during the period.

Guardian Pharmacy Services Price Performance

NYSE GRDN opened at $36.96 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $35.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.43. Guardian Pharmacy Services has a 12 month low of $19.17 and a 12 month high of $41.36. The company has a market capitalization of $2.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.00 and a beta of 0.47.

Guardian Pharmacy Services (NYSE:GRDN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.10. Guardian Pharmacy Services had a net margin of 3.40% and a return on equity of 31.64%. The business had revenue of $397.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $390.04 million. The firm's revenue was up 17.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Guardian Pharmacy Services will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Guardian Pharmacy Services Company Profile

Guardian Pharmacy Services, Inc, a pharmacy service company, provides a suite of technology-enabled services designed to help residents of long-term health care facilities (LTCFs) in the United States. Its individualized clinical, drug dispensing, and administration capabilities are used to serve the needs of residents in lower acuity LTCFs, such as assisted living facilities and behavioral health facilities and group homes. The company's Guardian Compass includes dashboards created using data from its data warehouse to help its local pharmacies plan, track, and optimize their business operations; and GuardianShield Programs for LTCFs.

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