Guardian Pharmacy Services (NYSE:GRDN) Now Covered by Analysts at Bank of America

Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services (NYSE:GRDN) in a research note published on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $42.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Guardian Pharmacy Services in a report on Monday, March 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial increased their price target on Guardian Pharmacy Services from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Zacks Research upgraded Guardian Pharmacy Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on Guardian Pharmacy Services from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Guardian Pharmacy Services currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $40.50.

Guardian Pharmacy Services Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE GRDN opened at $37.92 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.74. The company has a market capitalization of $2.40 billion, a PE ratio of 49.25 and a beta of 0.47. Guardian Pharmacy Services has a 12 month low of $19.17 and a 12 month high of $41.36.

Guardian Pharmacy Services (NYSE:GRDN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.10. Guardian Pharmacy Services had a return on equity of 31.64% and a net margin of 3.40%.The company had revenue of $397.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $390.04 million. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Guardian Pharmacy Services will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Guardian Pharmacy Services

In other news, insider Kendall Forbes sold 346,672 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 453,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,452,638.08. This represents a 43.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director William E. Bindley sold 3,570,677 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.68, for a total value of $105,977,693.36. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,469,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $132,649,298.88. This represents a 44.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 9,726,405 shares of company stock valued at $288,679,700 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 32.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services by 26.5% during the third quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in Guardian Pharmacy Services by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 17,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $541,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares during the last quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey boosted its position in Guardian Pharmacy Services by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 6,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $183,000 after purchasing an additional 1,028 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new position in Guardian Pharmacy Services during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in Guardian Pharmacy Services by 70.5% during the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 1,343 shares during the last quarter.

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.