Insider Selling: Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH) Director Sells 6,674 Shares of Stock

Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH) Director Steve Krognes sold 6,674 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $175.74, for a total value of $1,172,888.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 7,906 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,389,400.44. The trade was a 45.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Guardant Health Trading Up 4.7%

NASDAQ:GH traded up $8.20 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $183.10. The company had a trading volume of 1,858,277 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,252,181. Guardant Health, Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.38 and a 12-month high of $183.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -52.46 and a beta of 1.57. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $160.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $126.47.

Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported ($0.42) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.76) by $0.34. The company had revenue of $334.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $314.23 million. Guardant Health’s revenue for the quarter was up 44.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.44) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Guardant Health, Inc. will post -2.98 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on GH shares. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Guardant Health in a report on Monday, July 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Guardant Health from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Guardant Health from $135.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Guardant Health from $150.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Guardant Health in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $188.12.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Guardant Health

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GH. Revere Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Guardant Health in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,994,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Guardant Health in the second quarter valued at $216,000. First Light Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 161,287 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Guardant Health by 43.7% during the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 24,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,690,000 after buying an additional 7,473 shares during the period. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Guardant Health by 755.0% during the second quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 171 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. 92.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Guardant Health

Guardant Health, Inc (NASDAQ:GH) is a precision oncology company that develops blood-based diagnostic tests designed to help detect cancer, guide treatment decisions and monitor patients over time. Its liquid biopsy technologies analyze tumor-related signals in blood, reducing the need for tissue biopsies in certain clinical and research settings.

The company’s products include Guardant360 tests, which profile advanced cancers and can help identify potentially actionable genomic alterations; Guardant Reveal, which is used to assess residual disease and recurrence risk; and Guardant Shield, a blood-based screening test for colorectal cancer.