Short Interest in Guardian Pharmacy Services, Inc. (NYSE:GRDN) Rises By 48.8%

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 48.8% in March to 2,914,959 shares (about 6.9% of shares short), with a days-to-cover ratio of 3.7 days.
• Insiders have been heavy sellers—9,726,405 shares valued at roughly $288.7 million sold over the last 90 days, including large March 20 sales by Kendall Forbes (346,672 shares) and Director Thomas J. Salentine Jr. (3,570,677 shares) that cut their ownership by ~43–44%.
• Shares traded at $37.72 (market cap ~$2.39B, P/E ~49); the company beat quarterly EPS and saw 17.4% revenue growth, and Wall Street consensus is a Buy with an average price target of $40.20.

Guardian Pharmacy Services, Inc. (NYSE:GRDN - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 2,914,959 shares, a growth of 48.8% from the March 15th total of 1,959,541 shares. Approximately 6.9% of the company's shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 783,270 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Guardian Pharmacy Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GRDN traded down $1.77 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $37.72. 438,439 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 382,829. Guardian Pharmacy Services has a 52-week low of $19.17 and a 52-week high of $41.36. The company has a 50-day moving average of $34.79 and a 200-day moving average of $30.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.99 and a beta of 0.47.

Guardian Pharmacy Services (NYSE:GRDN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.10. Guardian Pharmacy Services had a return on equity of 31.64% and a net margin of 3.40%.The firm had revenue of $397.62 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $390.04 million. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Guardian Pharmacy Services will post 0.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GRDN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens lifted their target price on Guardian Pharmacy Services from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Guardian Pharmacy Services in a research note on Monday, March 30th. They set a "buy" rating and a $44.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut Guardian Pharmacy Services from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Zacks Research raised Guardian Pharmacy Services from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on Guardian Pharmacy Services from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $40.20.

Insider Activity at Guardian Pharmacy Services

In related news, insider Kendall Forbes sold 346,672 shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.68, for a total value of $10,289,224.96. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 453,256 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,452,638.08. The trade was a 43.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas J. Salentine, Jr. sold 3,570,677 shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.68, for a total value of $105,977,693.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,469,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $132,649,298.88. This represents a 44.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 9,726,405 shares of company stock valued at $288,679,700 over the last ninety days. 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. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services during the 1st quarter valued at $233,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services by 48.0% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,027 shares of the company's stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 1,956 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services by 1,783.1% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 14,895 shares of the company's stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 14,104 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services by 121.1% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 16,174 shares of the company's stock valued at $345,000 after purchasing an additional 8,860 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $214,000.

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.

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