Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH) Shares Up 6.4% - Here's Why

Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH - Get Free Report) shares rose 6.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $47.68 and last traded at $48.01. Approximately 1,011,909 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 58% from the average daily volume of 2,393,260 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.13.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Guardant Health from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Guardant Health in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Guardant Health from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on Guardant Health from $40.00 to $35.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Leerink Partners lowered their target price on Guardant Health from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $40.60.

Guardant Health Stock Up 6.1 %

The stock's 50 day moving average price is $34.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.92 billion, a PE ratio of -11.31 and a beta of 1.28.

Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.88) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.55) by ($0.33). The business had revenue of $191.48 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.49 million. Guardant Health had a negative return on equity of 1,200.44% and a negative net margin of 74.02%. The business's revenue was up 33.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.73) EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Guardant Health, Inc. will post -3.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Musa Tariq sold 2,320 shares of Guardant Health stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $81,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $93,660. This trade represents a 46.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Meghan V. Joyce sold 2,896 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.90, for a total value of $86,590.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $228,675.20. This trade represents a 27.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,548 shares of company stock worth $179,782 in the last 90 days. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Guardant Health

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Guardant Health in the 3rd quarter worth about $15,624,000. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Guardant Health by 54.6% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 195,008 shares of the company's stock worth $4,473,000 after purchasing an additional 68,883 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Guardant Health by 1.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,822,220 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,754,000 after buying an additional 29,686 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Guardant Health by 1,282.5% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,226,176 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,128,000 after buying an additional 1,137,482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Light Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Guardant Health by 119.7% in the second quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 416,967 shares of the company's stock worth $12,042,000 after buying an additional 227,202 shares during the period. 92.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Guardant Health Company Profile

Guardant Health, Inc, a precision oncology company, provides blood and tissue tests, data sets, and analytics in the United States and internationally. The company provides Guardant360; Guardant360 LDT; Guardant360 CDx Test; Guardant360 Response Test; Guardant360 TissueNext Test; GuardantINFINITY Test; GuardantConnect, an integrated software-based solution designed for clinical and biopharmaceutical customers to connect patients tested with assays with actionable alterations with potentially relevant clinical studies; GuardantOMNI Test for advanced stage cancer; and GuardantINFORM, an in-silico research platform for tumor evolution and treatment resistance across various biomarker-driven cancers.

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