Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH) Hits New 12-Month Low on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday after The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on the stock from $32.00 to $28.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Guardant Health traded as low as $16.28 and last traded at $16.36, with a volume of 170032 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.06.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on GH. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on shares of Guardant Health from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Guardant Health from $60.00 to $45.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Guardant Health in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Guardant Health from $40.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Kumud Kalia bought 2,187 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $17.82 per share, with a total value of $38,972.34. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $226,706.04. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 6.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Guardant Health

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Guardant Health by 5.2% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 12,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $849,000 after acquiring an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Guardant Health in the 1st quarter worth approximately $385,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in Guardant Health by 20.3% during the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 16,548 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,109,000 after buying an additional 2,797 shares in the last quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP boosted its holdings in Guardant Health by 36.0% in the first quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 143,041 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,475,000 after acquiring an additional 37,888 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Guardant Health by 186.3% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 24,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,616,000 after purchasing an additional 15,873 shares during the last quarter. 92.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Guardant Health Trading Down 3.9 %

The company has a market cap of $1.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.99 and a beta of 0.87. 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 moving average is $19.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.55.

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

Guardant Health Company Profile

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.