Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH) Trading Up 2.8%

Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH) shares were up 2.8% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $23.13 and last traded at $23.13. Approximately 729 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 100% from the average daily volume of 1,961,446 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.51.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on GH shares. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $44.00 price objective on shares of Guardant Health in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Guardant Health from $40.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 26th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Guardant Health in a report on Friday, April 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Guardant Health from $60.00 to $45.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on Guardant Health from $45.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $36.60.

Guardant Health Stock Up 13.4 %

The company has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a PE ratio of -6.51 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a quick ratio of 5.66, a current ratio of 5.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $19.55 and a 200-day moving average of $22.20.

Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported ($1.58) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.93) by ($0.65). The firm had revenue of $155.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $151.71 million. Guardant Health had a negative net margin of 76.34% and a negative return on equity of 246.47%. Sell-side analysts predict that Guardant Health, Inc. will post -3.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Kumud Kalia acquired 2,187 shares of Guardant Health stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $17.82 per share, with a total value of $38,972.34. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 12,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $226,706.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Guardant Health

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GH. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Guardant Health during the third quarter worth about $115,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Guardant Health by 26.1% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,450 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 713 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in Guardant Health by 11.0% in the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 166,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,934,000 after buying an additional 16,440 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in Guardant Health by 3.1% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 31,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $939,000 after buying an additional 955 shares during the period. Finally, Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Guardant Health in the third quarter worth about $639,000. 92.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.