KBC Group NV Increases Stake in Guardant Health, Inc. $GH

KBC Group NV raised its stake in Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH) by 140.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,537 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,403 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Guardant Health were worth $696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Guardant Health by 19.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 844 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank boosted its holdings in Guardant Health by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 2,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Financial boosted its holdings in Guardant Health by 33.1% during the first quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 559 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Xponance LLC grew its position in Guardant Health by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Xponance LLC now owns 9,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $984,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. Finally, Danske Bank A S grew its position in Guardant Health by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 1,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.60% of the company’s stock.

Guardant Health Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ GH opened at $147.33 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.46 and a beta of 1.59. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $139.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $111.95. Guardant Health, Inc. has a 52-week low of $40.35 and a 52-week high of $174.08.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Guardant Health from $160.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Guardant Health from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Citigroup upped their price target on Guardant Health from $150.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Guardant Health in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Guardant Health in a report on Friday, June 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $165.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $160.04.

Insider Transactions at Guardant Health

In related news, Director Meghan V. Joyce sold 10,000 shares of Guardant Health stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.98, for a total value of $1,269,800.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,183 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,420,017.34. The trade was a 47.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Amirali Talasaz sold 210,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.89, for a total value of $23,076,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,886,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,307,924.56. This trade represents a 10.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 708,565 shares of company stock worth $90,556,597 in the last three months. 5.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Guardant Health Company Profile

Guardant Health, Inc is a precision oncology company specializing in blood-based cancer diagnostics. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Redwood City, California, the company develops non-invasive tests that use circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) to profile genomic alterations in patients with solid tumors. Guardant Health’s mission is to advance cancer care by providing actionable data to clinicians, pharmaceutical partners and researchers worldwide.

The company’s flagship product, Guardant360, is a next-generation sequencing (NGS) assay designed to detect mutations, copy number variations and select fusions in more than 70 cancer-related genes.