Guardian Pharmacy Services (NYSE:GRDN) Price Target Raised to $43.00 at Oppenheimer

Key Points

• Oppenheimer raised its price target on Guardian Pharmacy Services from $38 to $43 and retained an "outperform" rating, implying roughly a 17.5% upside; the analyst consensus is a "Buy" with an average target of $41.33.
• Quarterly results beat estimates: the company reported $0.37 EPS vs. $0.27 expected and $397.6M in revenue (up 17.4% year-over-year), with a 3.4% net margin and 31.6% ROE.
• Large insider selling has occurred recently—about 9.73 million shares (~$288.7M) sold over the past 90 days—though insiders still own roughly 32.96% of the company.

Guardian Pharmacy Services (NYSE:GRDN - Get Free Report) had its price objective raised by research analysts at Oppenheimer from $38.00 to $43.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Oppenheimer's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 17.49% from the company's previous close.

GRDN has been the topic of several other reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Stephens lifted their price objective on Guardian Pharmacy Services from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $40.00 price objective on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Zacks Research upgraded Guardian Pharmacy Services from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Bank of America started coverage on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services in a research note on Monday, April 27th. They set a "buy" rating and a $42.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $41.33.

Guardian Pharmacy Services Price Performance

NYSE:GRDN opened at $36.60 on Thursday. Guardian Pharmacy Services has a one year low of $19.17 and a one year high of $41.36. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $36.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.20. The stock has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.53, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.09.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Guardian Pharmacy Services

In related news, major shareholder Equity Fund L.P. Cardinal sold 275,728 shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.68, for a total transaction of $8,183,607.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 345,123 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,243,250.64. This trade represents a 44.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Fred Burke sold 671,432 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.68, for a total transaction of $19,928,101.76. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 840,413 shares in the company, valued at $24,943,457.84. This represents a 44.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 9,726,405 shares of company stock worth $288,679,700 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 32.96% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Guardian Pharmacy Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GRDN. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new position in Guardian Pharmacy Services during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in Guardian Pharmacy Services by 26.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,647 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Guardian Pharmacy Services in the 2nd quarter valued at $43,000. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services in the 4th quarter valued at $75,000. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services by 196.3% during the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 2,628 shares of the company's stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 1,741 shares during the period.

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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