Guardian Pharmacy Services (NYSE:GRDN) Reaches New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Guardian Pharmacy Services hit a new 52-week high after Truist Financial raised its price target from $43 to $47 and kept a buy rating. The stock traded as high as $44.00 intraday.
• Analyst sentiment remains constructive overall, with seven Buy ratings and two Hold ratings and an average target price of $42.83. Bank of America also recently lifted its target to $47 and reiterated a buy rating.
• The company’s latest earnings beat expectations, posting $0.29 EPS versus $0.24 expected and revenue of $336.6 million. Insider selling has been notable, however, including large March sales by two directors and $288.7 million in insider sales over the last quarter.

Guardian Pharmacy Services, Inc. (NYSE:GRDN - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after Truist Financial raised their price target on the stock from $43.00 to $47.00. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Guardian Pharmacy Services traded as high as $44.00 and last traded at $43.1740, with a volume of 43804 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $43.40.

GRDN has been the subject of several other reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Zacks Research lowered Guardian Pharmacy Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Guardian Pharmacy Services from $42.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $42.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Thomas J. Salentine, Jr. sold 3,570,677 shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.68, for a total transaction of $105,977,693.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 4,469,316 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $132,649,298.88. The trade was a 44.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director William E. Bindley sold 3,570,677 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.68, for a total transaction of $105,977,693.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 4,469,316 shares of the company's stock, valued at $132,649,298.88. This trade represents a 44.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 9,726,405 shares of company stock worth $288,679,700. 32.96% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Guardian Pharmacy Services

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valiant Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Valiant Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,232,463 shares of the company's stock worth $37,085,000 after purchasing an additional 167,741 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,143,729 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000,000 after buying an additional 36,072 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,056,240 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,705,000 after buying an additional 80,033 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Guardian Pharmacy Services by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,055,102 shares of the company's stock worth $27,675,000 after buying an additional 88,296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its stake in Guardian Pharmacy Services by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,054,636 shares of the company's stock worth $31,995,000 after buying an additional 7,759 shares in the last quarter.

Guardian Pharmacy Services Price Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.41. The firm has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a PE ratio of 51.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.08.

Guardian Pharmacy Services (NYSE:GRDN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.05. Guardian Pharmacy Services had a net margin of 3.64% and a return on equity of 30.72%. The firm had revenue of $336.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $329.89 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.22 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Guardian Pharmacy Services, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Guardian Pharmacy Services

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.