Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH) Stock Price Up 7.4% – What’s Next?

Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH)’s stock price traded up 7.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $32.26 and last traded at $31.92. 1,674,351 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 19% from the average session volume of 2,066,458 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.73.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on GH. Leerink Partners cut their target price on Guardant Health from $60.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Guardant Health from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Guardant Health from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Guardant Health from $28.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, BTIG Research increased their target price on Guardant Health from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.60.

Guardant Health Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.33. 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) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.88) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.55) by ($0.33). The company had revenue of $191.48 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.49 million. Guardant Health had a negative net margin of 74.02% and a negative return on equity of 1,200.44%. Guardant Health’s revenue for the quarter was up 33.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.73) earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Guardant Health, Inc. will post -3.38 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Meghan V. Joyce sold 2,896 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $86,590.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,648 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $228,675.20. This trade represents a 27.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Guardant Health

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in Guardant Health during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $21,389,000. PDT Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Guardant Health by 51.8% during the 3rd quarter. PDT Partners LLC now owns 219,542 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,036,000 after acquiring an additional 74,957 shares in the last quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Guardant Health by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 3,837,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,028,000 after purchasing an additional 76,762 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC raised its position in Guardant Health by 220.6% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 37,641 shares of the company’s stock valued at $863,000 after purchasing an additional 25,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Guardant Health by 6.8% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 28,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $665,000 after purchasing an additional 1,844 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.60% of the company’s stock.

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.