Guardian Pharmacy Services (NYSE:GRDN) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Guardian Pharmacy Services, Inc. (NYSE:GRDN) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $42.48 and last traded at $42.0220, with a volume of 412637 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $41.83.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Guardian Pharmacy Services in a research report on Monday, March 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research downgraded Guardian Pharmacy Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Guardian Pharmacy Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Guardian Pharmacy Services from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Guardian Pharmacy Services in a research report on Monday, April 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $42.00 target price for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.33.

Guardian Pharmacy Services Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $38.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.08. The company has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a PE ratio of 51.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.08.

Guardian Pharmacy Services (NYSE:GRDN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.05. Guardian Pharmacy Services had a return on equity of 30.72% and a net margin of 3.64%.The company had revenue of $336.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $329.89 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.22 EPS. Guardian Pharmacy Services’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Guardian Pharmacy Services, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Guardian Pharmacy Services

In related news, insider Kendall Forbes sold 346,672 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.68, for a total transaction of $10,289,224.96. Following the sale, the insider owned 453,256 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,452,638.08. This represents a 43.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John Ackerman sold 1,103,364 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.68, for a total value of $32,747,843.52. Following the sale, the director owned 345,123 shares in the company, valued at $10,243,250.64. The trade was a 76.17% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 9,726,405 shares of company stock worth $288,679,700 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 32.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Guardian Pharmacy Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in Guardian Pharmacy Services by 26.5% in the third quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Guardian Pharmacy Services in the second quarter worth $43,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Guardian Pharmacy Services in the second quarter worth $58,000. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Guardian Pharmacy Services in the fourth quarter worth $75,000. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its stake in Guardian Pharmacy Services by 196.3% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 2,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 1,741 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.