Guardian Pharmacy Services (NYSE:GRDN) Research Coverage Started at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services (NYSE:GRDN) in a research note published on Monday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $44.00 price objective on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services in a report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research raised shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services in a report on Thursday, March 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $39.20.

Guardian Pharmacy Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GRDN opened at $37.68 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.39 billion, a PE ratio of 48.94 and a beta of 0.46. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.13. Guardian Pharmacy Services has a 1 year low of $19.17 and a 1 year high of $38.34.

Guardian Pharmacy Services (NYSE:GRDN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.10. Guardian Pharmacy Services had a return on equity of 31.64% and a net margin of 3.40%.The firm had revenue of $397.62 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $390.04 million. Guardian Pharmacy Services’s revenue was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Guardian Pharmacy Services will post 0.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John Ackerman sold 1,103,364 shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.68, for a total value of $32,747,843.52. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 345,123 shares in the company, valued at $10,243,250.64. The trade was a 76.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider David K. Morris sold 187,855 shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 254,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,552,728.96. The trade was a 42.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,726,405 shares of company stock worth $288,679,700. 63.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GRDN. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new stake in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services by 26.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services during the second quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey boosted its stake in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services by 76.8% during the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 2,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,062 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new position in Guardian Pharmacy Services during the second quarter valued at approximately $58,000.

Guardian Pharmacy Services Company Profile

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.