Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH) Hits New 52-Week High - Time to Buy?

Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $179.30 and last traded at $175.65, with a volume of 2851744 shares. The stock had previously closed at $167.84.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on GH shares. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on shares of Guardant Health from $135.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Guardant Health in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Guardant Health in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Guardant Health in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Guardant Health from $130.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One investment 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $188.12.

Guardant Health Stock Performance

The firm's 50 day moving average price is $159.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $125.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.57 billion, a PE ratio of -50.33 and a beta of 1.57.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Guardant Health news, CEO Amirali Talasaz sold 37,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.16, for a total transaction of $6,343,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 37,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,343,500. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Terilyn Monroe sold 46,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.12, for a total value of $7,645,056.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 22,979 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,794,292.48. This represents a 66.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 426,908 shares of company stock valued at $67,098,183. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GH. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in Guardant Health in the second quarter valued at approximately $208,592,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Guardant Health during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $196,737,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Guardant Health during the 4th quarter worth approximately $128,499,000. Summit Partners Public Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Guardant Health by 674.5% in the 4th quarter. Summit Partners Public Asset Management LLC now owns 851,958 shares of the company's stock worth $87,019,000 after purchasing an additional 741,958 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in shares of Guardant Health in the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,073,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.60% of the company's stock.

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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