Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH) Trading 7.6% Higher - Here's What Happened

Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH - Get Free Report)'s share price rose 7.6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $36.57 and last traded at $36.32. Approximately 530,169 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 1,219,949 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.76.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on GH shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Guardant Health from $32.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Leerink Partners lowered their price objective on Guardant Health from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Guardant Health from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $40.60.

Guardant Health Stock Performance

The firm's fifty day moving average price is $31.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.45. The company has a market cap of $4.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -8.46 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 6.22, a quick ratio of 5.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.70.

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

Insider Transactions at Guardant Health

In related news, Director Musa Tariq sold 2,320 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $81,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,676 shares of the company's stock, valued at $93,660. This trade represents a 46.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Meghan V. Joyce sold 2,896 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.90, for a total value of $86,590.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $228,675.20. This represents a 27.47 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,432 shares of company stock valued at $175,423. Corporate insiders own 5.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JNBA Financial Advisors bought a new position in Guardant Health in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Guardant Health in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Guardant Health during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Guardant Health during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $71,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Guardant Health by 168.1% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,434 shares of the company's stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 2,153 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.60% of the company's stock.

About Guardant Health

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.