Wall Street Zen Upgrades Guardian Pharmacy Services (NYSE:GRDN) to Strong-Buy

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Guardian Pharmacy Services (NYSE:GRDN) from a "buy" to a "strong-buy", while the consensus analyst rating remains "Buy" with an average price target of $40.20.
• GRDN beat estimates in its last quarter with EPS of $0.37 (vs. $0.27 expected) and revenue of $397.62M (up 17.4% YoY); the stock trades around $37.52 with a $2.38B market cap and a PE of ~48.7.
• Significant insider selling: insiders have sold about 9.73 million shares (~$288.7M) in the past 90 days, leaving insiders with 32.96% ownership, which could temper investor enthusiasm despite analyst upgrades.

Guardian Pharmacy Services (NYSE:GRDN - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on GRDN. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services in a research note on Monday, March 30th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $44.00 price target for the company. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services in a research note on Friday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Guardian Pharmacy Services currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $40.20.

Guardian Pharmacy Services Trading Up 1.5%

Guardian Pharmacy Services stock opened at $37.52 on Friday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $35.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a PE ratio of 48.73 and a beta of 0.47. Guardian Pharmacy Services has a 1-year low of $19.17 and a 1-year high of $41.36.

Guardian Pharmacy Services (NYSE:GRDN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $397.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $390.04 million. Guardian Pharmacy Services had a net margin of 3.40% and a return on equity of 31.64%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 17.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Guardian Pharmacy Services will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider David K. Morris sold 187,855 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.68, for a total value of $5,575,536.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 254,472 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,552,728.96. This represents a 42.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Kendall Forbes sold 346,672 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.68, for a total transaction of $10,289,224.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 453,256 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,452,638.08. This trade represents a 43.34% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 9,726,405 shares of company stock worth $288,679,700 in the last ninety days. 32.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Guardian Pharmacy Services

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Guardian Pharmacy Services during the 3rd quarter valued at $433,000. CSM Advisors LLC boosted its position in Guardian Pharmacy Services by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. CSM Advisors LLC now owns 135,665 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,559,000 after buying an additional 39,360 shares during the period. Aristotle Capital Boston LLC boosted its position in Guardian Pharmacy Services by 58.5% during the 3rd quarter. Aristotle Capital Boston LLC now owns 649,463 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,035,000 after buying an additional 239,790 shares during the period. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Guardian Pharmacy Services by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 860,173 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,562,000 after buying an additional 45,950 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Guardian Pharmacy Services by 274.9% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 19,017 shares of the company's stock valued at $572,000 after buying an additional 13,945 shares during the period.

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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