Guardian Pharmacy Services (NYSE:GRDN) Sets New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Guardian Pharmacy Services, Inc. (NYSE:GRDN) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Truist Financial raised their price target on the stock from $43.00 to $47.00. Truist Financial currently has a buy rating on the stock. Guardian Pharmacy Services traded as high as $44.00 and last traded at $43.1740, with a volume of 43804 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $43.40.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on GRDN. Zacks Research lowered Guardian Pharmacy Services from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Guardian Pharmacy Services in a research report on Monday, March 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Equity Fund L.P. Cardinal sold 275,728 shares of the business’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 $8,183,607.04. Following the transaction, the insider owned 345,123 shares in the company, valued at $10,243,250.64. The trade was a 44.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider David K. Morris sold 187,855 shares of the company’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 $5,575,536.40. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 254,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,552,728.96. The trade was a 42.47% decrease in their position. 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. Corporate insiders own 32.96% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Guardian Pharmacy Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Guardian Pharmacy Services by 26.5% in the third quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Guardian Pharmacy Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $43,000. State of Wyoming bought a new position in Guardian Pharmacy Services in the 2nd quarter worth $58,000. Strs Ohio bought a new position in Guardian Pharmacy Services in the 4th quarter worth $75,000. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services by 196.3% in the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 2,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 1,741 shares during the period.

Guardian Pharmacy Services Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $38.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $34.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a PE ratio of 51.88, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.08.

Guardian Pharmacy Services (NYSE:GRDN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.05. Guardian Pharmacy Services had a net margin of 3.64% and a return on equity of 30.72%. The company had revenue of $336.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $329.89 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.22 earnings per share. Guardian Pharmacy Services’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Guardian Pharmacy Services, Inc. will post 1.18 earnings per share for the current year.

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.