Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH) gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $46.09, but opened at $44.52. Guardant Health shares last traded at $44.77, with a volume of 2,540,438 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Guardant Health Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $5.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.70 and a beta of 1.32. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.59.

Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported ($0.88) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.55) by ($0.33). Guardant Health had a negative return on equity of 1,200.44% and a negative net margin of 74.02%. The company had revenue of $191.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.49 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.73) EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 33.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Guardant Health, Inc. will post -3.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Guardant Health

In related news, Director Musa Tariq sold 2,320 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $81,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $93,660. This represents a 46.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Meghan V. Joyce sold 2,896 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.90, for a total transaction of $86,590.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $228,675.20. This trade represents a 27.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,548 shares of company stock worth $179,782 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JNBA Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Guardant Health in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Guardant Health in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Guardant Health in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Guardant Health in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Guardant Health by 168.1% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 2,153 shares during the period. 92.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.