Steve Krognes Sells 6,674 Shares of Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH) Stock

Key Points

• Guardant Health director Steve Krognes sold 6,674 shares at an average price of $175.74, generating proceeds of approximately $1.17 million and reducing his position by 45.78%.
• GH shares rose 4.7% to $183.10, near the stock’s 52-week high. The company’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with adjusted EPS of $(0.42) versus estimates of $(0.76) and revenue up 44.3% year over year to $334.98 million.
• Analysts maintain a largely positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and average price target of $188.12; institutional investors own 92.6% of the stock.

Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH - Get Free Report) Director Steve Krognes sold 6,674 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.74, for a total transaction of $1,172,888.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 7,906 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,389,400.44. The trade was a 45.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Guardant Health Stock Up 4.7%

GH traded up $8.20 during 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. The company has a market cap of $24.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -52.46 and a beta of 1.57. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $160.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $126.47. Guardant Health, Inc. has a 1 year low of $55.38 and a 1 year high of $183.51.

Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported ($0.42) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.76) by $0.34. The company had revenue of $334.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $314.23 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.44) earnings per share. Guardant Health's revenue for the quarter was up 44.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Guardant Health, Inc. will post -2.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on GH. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Guardant Health from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Guardant Health in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Guardant Health in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $150.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens increased their price objective on Guardant Health from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Guardant Health from $175.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Guardant Health presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $188.12.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GH. Revere Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Guardant Health during the second quarter worth about $3,994,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Guardant Health in the second quarter valued at approximately $216,000. First Light Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Guardant Health by 57.5% during the 2nd quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 441,586 shares of the company's stock worth $66,251,000 after buying an additional 161,287 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Guardant Health by 43.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 24,593 shares of the company's stock worth $3,690,000 after buying an additional 7,473 shares during the period. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Guardant Health by 755.0% during the 2nd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 171 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. 92.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Guardant Health

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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