Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH) had its price objective increased by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $42.00 to $52.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 27.34% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Guardant Health in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $60.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Guardant Health from $49.00 to $56.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Guardant Health from $34.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Guardant Health from $45.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $56.00 target price on shares of Guardant Health in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Twenty equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Guardant Health has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.40.

Guardant Health Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ GH traded down $1.83 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $40.83. 665,963 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,444,771. Guardant Health has a one year low of $15.81 and a one year high of $50.89. The company’s 50 day moving average is $41.70 and its 200 day moving average is $32.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.53 and a beta of 1.50.

Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported ($0.90) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.75) by ($0.15). Guardant Health had a negative net margin of 59.05% and a negative return on equity of 19,157.20%. The business had revenue of $201.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $192.50 million. Research analysts anticipate that Guardant Health will post -2.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Musa Tariq sold 2,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $81,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $93,660. The trade was a 46.44 % 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 link. Insiders sold a total of 2,668 shares of company stock worth $95,208 over the last three months. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Guardant Health

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Guardant Health by 188.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,127,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,325,000 after buying an additional 6,618,785 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Guardant Health in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,438,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in shares of Guardant Health by 96.7% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,315,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,742,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138,300 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Guardant Health by 1,282.5% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,226,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,128,000 after buying an additional 1,137,482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC raised its position in Guardant Health by 233.5% in the 3rd quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 1,512,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,701,000 after buying an additional 1,059,104 shares during the last quarter. 92.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.