Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $37.70.

A number of analysts have weighed in on GH shares. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Guardant Health from $40.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Craig Hallum assumed coverage on Guardant Health in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Guardant Health from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on Guardant Health from $45.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Guardant Health in a research report on Friday, April 5th.

Insider Activity at Guardant Health

In other Guardant Health news, insider Kumud Kalia purchased 2,187 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $17.82 per share, for a total transaction of $38,972.34. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 12,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $226,706.04. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 6.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Guardant Health

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GH. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Guardant Health by 2.8% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 16,854 shares of the company’s stock valued at $500,000 after acquiring an additional 453 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank grew its position in Guardant Health by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 17,058 shares of the company’s stock valued at $506,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its position in Guardant Health by 137.1% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Guardant Health by 29.4% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,702 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its holdings in Guardant Health by 2.1% during the third quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 32,238 shares of the company’s stock worth $956,000 after buying an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. 92.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Guardant Health Stock Performance

Guardant Health stock opened at $18.88 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 6.24, a current ratio of 6.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.18. The stock has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a PE ratio of -4.41 and a beta of 0.92. Guardant Health has a 12-month low of $15.81 and a 12-month high of $41.06. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $18.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.53.

Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported ($1.58) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.93) by ($0.65). The company had revenue of $155.05 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $151.71 million. Guardant Health had a negative net margin of 85.02% and a negative return on equity of 301.94%. As a group, analysts expect that Guardant Health will post -3.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.