Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at Craig Hallum

Craig Hallum assumed coverage on shares of Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Guggenheim reissued a neutral rating on shares of Guardant Health in a report on Friday, April 5th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Guardant Health from $40.00 to $30.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 26th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on Guardant Health from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Guardant Health from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Guardant Health from $60.00 to $45.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Guardant Health currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $39.27.

Guardant Health Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:GH opened at $17.35 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.18, a current ratio of 6.54 and a quick ratio of 6.24. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.96. Guardant Health has a 52-week low of $15.81 and a 52-week high of $41.06.

Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported ($1.58) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.93) by ($0.65). The firm had revenue of $155.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $151.71 million. Guardant Health had a negative return on equity of 301.94% and a negative net margin of 85.02%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Guardant Health will post -3.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Kumud Kalia acquired 2,187 shares of Guardant Health stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $17.82 per share, for a total transaction of $38,972.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $226,706.04. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 6.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Guardant Health

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Guardant Health during the first quarter worth $273,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Guardant Health by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,130,654 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,084,000 after buying an additional 180,424 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Guardant Health by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 834,084 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,562,000 after buying an additional 161,986 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Guardant Health in the fourth quarter valued at $233,000. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky acquired a new stake in shares of Guardant Health in the fourth quarter valued at $3,868,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.60% of the company’s stock.

About Guardant Health

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.