Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,770,000 shares, a drop of 21.6% from the January 15th total of 7,360,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,160,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Guardant Health from $36.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Guardant Health in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $60.00 target price on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Guardant Health from $40.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Guardant Health in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Guardant Health from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Guardant Health currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.63.

Guardant Health Price Performance

NASDAQ:GH traded up $1.14 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $48.12. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,129,865 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,321,910. Guardant Health has a twelve month low of $15.81 and a twelve month high of $50.89. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.05. The company has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -11.35 and a beta of 1.32.

Insider Activity at Guardant Health

In related news, Director Musa Tariq sold 2,320 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $81,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,676 shares in the company, valued at $93,660. This represents a 46.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 2,652 shares of company stock valued at $93,192 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Guardant Health

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Guardant Health by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its position in Guardant Health by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 12,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $377,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in Guardant Health by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 35,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,089,000 after acquiring an additional 403 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Guardant Health by 21.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,449 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 796 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Guardant Health by 43.5% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 2,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 817 shares during the period. 92.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.