Alex Azar II Sells 826 Shares of Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH) Stock

Key Points

• Director Alex Azar II sold 826 Guardant Health shares at an average price of $175, generating $144,550. The transaction, conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reduced his position by approximately 50% to 825 shares.
• Guardant Health shares rose 4.7% to $183.10, near their 52-week high of $183.51. The company recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, including revenue of $334.98 million, up 44.3% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $188.12. Institutional investors own 92.6% of the company, while several hedge funds recently initiated positions.

Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH - Get Free Report) Director Alex Azar II sold 826 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.00, for a total value of $144,550.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 825 shares in the company, valued at approximately $144,375. This represents a 50.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Guardant Health Stock Up 4.7%

NASDAQ:GH traded up $8.20 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $183.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,858,277 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,252,181. Guardant Health, Inc. has a 1 year low of $55.38 and a 1 year high of $183.51. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $160.33 and a 200-day moving average of $126.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.57 billion, a PE ratio of -52.46 and a beta of 1.57.

Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $314.23 million. The firm's revenue was up 44.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.44) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Guardant Health, Inc. will post -2.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in GH. Orbimed Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Guardant Health in the 1st quarter worth $40,199,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in Guardant Health during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,772,000. Ninepoint Partners LP purchased a new stake in Guardant Health during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,853,000. SWS Partners acquired a new position in shares of Guardant Health in the second quarter valued at about $11,190,000. Finally, Eagle Health Investments LP acquired a new position in shares of Guardant Health in the second quarter valued at about $45,112,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on GH shares. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Guardant Health in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Guardant Health from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Barclays upped their price objective on Guardant Health from $150.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Guardant Health from $135.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Guardant Health from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $188.12.

Guardant Health Company Profile

Guardant Health, Inc NASDAQ: GH is a precision oncology company that develops blood-based diagnostic tests designed to help detect cancer, guide treatment decisions and monitor patients over time. Its liquid biopsy technologies analyze tumor-related signals in blood, reducing the need for tissue biopsies in certain clinical and research settings.

The company's products include Guardant360 tests, which profile advanced cancers and can help identify potentially actionable genomic alterations; Guardant Reveal, which is used to assess residual disease and recurrence risk; and Guardant Shield, a blood-based screening test for colorectal cancer.

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