Guardian Pharmacy Services (NYSE:GRDN) Trading Up 5.7% – Here’s Why

Guardian Pharmacy Services, Inc. (NYSE:GRDN) shot up 5.7% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $36.39 and last traded at $36.1020. Approximately 65,811 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 335,240 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.16.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GRDN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Guardian Pharmacy Services in a report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price target for the company. Stephens increased their price objective on Guardian Pharmacy Services from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.20.

Guardian Pharmacy Services Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.33 billion, a PE ratio of 47.75 and a beta of 0.86. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.97.

Guardian Pharmacy Services (NYSE:GRDN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $397.62 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $390.04 million. Guardian Pharmacy Services had a net margin of 3.40% and a return on equity of 31.64%. Guardian Pharmacy Services’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Guardian Pharmacy Services, Inc. will post 0.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Guardian Pharmacy Services

In related news, Director Thomas J. Salentine, Jr. sold 3,570,677 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.68, for a total value of $105,977,693.36. Following the sale, the director directly owned 4,469,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $132,649,298.88. This trade represents a 44.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director William E. Bindley sold 3,570,677 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.68, for a total transaction of $105,977,693.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 4,469,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $132,649,298.88. The trade was a 44.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,726,405 shares of company stock worth $288,679,700. 63.71% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Guardian Pharmacy Services

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Guardian Pharmacy Services by 418.7% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,046,877 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,922,000 after acquiring an additional 845,048 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new stake in Guardian Pharmacy Services during the fourth quarter worth about $19,126,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services by 725.2% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 342,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,972,000 after purchasing an additional 300,587 shares during the period. Aristotle Capital Boston LLC raised its holdings in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services by 58.5% in the 3rd quarter. Aristotle Capital Boston LLC now owns 649,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,035,000 after purchasing an additional 239,790 shares during the period. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 1,048,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,538,000 after purchasing an additional 187,963 shares in 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.