J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Acquires New Stake in Guardant Health, Inc. $GH

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG acquired a new stake in Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 5,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $548,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in GH. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its position in shares of Guardant Health by 11.5% in the first quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 153,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,155,000 after buying an additional 15,782 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Guardant Health by 1,344.7% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 59,303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,478,000 after purchasing an additional 55,198 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of Guardant Health by 1,069.6% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 98,843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,130,000 after acquiring an additional 90,392 shares during the last quarter. Seelaus Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Guardant Health during the first quarter worth approximately $275,000. Finally, Ascentis Independent Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Guardant Health during the 1st quarter worth $38,000. 92.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Helmy Eltoukhy sold 100,000 shares of Guardant Health stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.30, for a total transaction of $12,630,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,012,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $254,231,669.70. The trade was a 4.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Michael Brian Bell sold 2,000 shares of Guardant Health stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $128.62, for a total value of $257,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 47,509 shares in the company, valued at $6,110,607.58. The trade was a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 708,565 shares of company stock worth $90,556,597. 5.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Guardant Health Price Performance

NASDAQ:GH opened at $162.96 on Thursday. Guardant Health, Inc. has a 1-year low of $40.35 and a 1-year high of $174.08. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $131.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $109.58. The stock has a market cap of $21.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -48.07 and a beta of 1.59.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on GH shares. Royal Bank Of Canada started coverage on shares of Guardant Health in a report on Thursday, June 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $185.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Guardant Health from $130.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Mizuho increased their target price on Guardant Health from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Guardant Health in a report on Friday, June 5th. They set a “buy” rating and a $165.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Guardant Health from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $158.74.

Guardant Health Company Profile

Guardant Health, Inc is a precision oncology company specializing in blood-based cancer diagnostics. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Redwood City, California, the company develops non-invasive tests that use circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) to profile genomic alterations in patients with solid tumors. Guardant Health’s mission is to advance cancer care by providing actionable data to clinicians, pharmaceutical partners and researchers worldwide.

The company’s flagship product, Guardant360, is a next-generation sequencing (NGS) assay designed to detect mutations, copy number variations and select fusions in more than 70 cancer-related genes.