Insider Selling: Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH) Director Sells 69 Shares of Stock

Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH) Director Alex Azar II sold 69 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.89, for a total transaction of $11,032.41. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $142,781.77. This trade represents a 7.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Guardant Health Stock Performance

GH stock traded up $2.89 on Thursday, reaching $165.88. The company had a trading volume of 1,328,962 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,214,661. Guardant Health, Inc. has a 1 year low of $64.00 and a 1 year high of $191.05. The company’s fifty day moving average is $167.97 and its 200 day moving average is $138.45. The company has a market cap of $22.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -47.53 and a beta of 1.58.

Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported ($0.42) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.76) by $0.34. The company had revenue of $334.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $314.23 million. Guardant Health’s quarterly revenue was up 44.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.44) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Guardant Health, Inc. will post -2.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Guardant Health in a research note on Friday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Guardant Health in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Guardant Health from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Guardant Health from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Guardant Health in a report on Thursday, September 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Guardant Health currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $190.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. ABS Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Guardant Health during the 2nd quarter worth $345,069,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in shares of Guardant Health in the second quarter valued at $208,592,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Guardant Health in the second quarter valued at $196,737,000. Summit Partners Public Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Guardant Health by 674.5% in the fourth quarter. Summit Partners Public Asset Management LLC now owns 851,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,019,000 after purchasing an additional 741,958 shares during the period. Finally, First Light Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Guardant Health by 57.5% in the second quarter. First Light Asset Management LLC now owns 441,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,251,000 after purchasing an additional 161,287 shares during the last quarter. 92.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Guardant Health

Guardant Health, Inc (NASDAQ: GH) is a precision oncology company that develops blood- and tissue-based diagnostic tests designed to help detect cancer, guide treatment decisions and monitor patients throughout the course of their disease. Its testing platforms analyze circulating tumor DNA and other genomic information to provide insights into a tumor’s molecular characteristics.

The company’s products include Guardant360 tests for comprehensive genomic profiling in advanced cancer, Guardant360 CDx, which is approved as a companion diagnostic for certain targeted therapies, and Guardant360 Response for assessing how a tumor may be responding to treatment.