Truist Financial Corp Acquires 8,831 Shares of Guardant Health, Inc. $GH

Truist Financial Corp increased its position in Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH) by 96.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,940 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,831 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Guardant Health were worth $1,832,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Danske Bank A S grew its holdings in shares of Guardant Health by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 1,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Guardant Health in the fourth quarter worth $548,000. Delta Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Guardant Health in the fourth quarter worth $2,271,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Guardant Health in the fourth quarter worth $290,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp bought a new stake in shares of Guardant Health in the fourth quarter worth $523,000. Institutional investors own 92.60% of the company’s stock.

Guardant Health Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Guardant Health stock opened at $98.66 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $89.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.92. Guardant Health, Inc. has a 52 week low of $36.36 and a 52 week high of $120.74. The company has a market capitalization of $13.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -29.10 and a beta of 1.48.

Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported ($0.50) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.43) by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $281.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $269.74 million. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 39.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.62) EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Guardant Health, Inc. will post -2.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Guardant Health in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $120.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $129.00 price objective on shares of Guardant Health in a report on Monday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Guardant Health from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Guardant Health in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, BTIG Research boosted their price target on Guardant Health from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $129.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Michael Brian Bell sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.04, for a total value of $261,120.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 43,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,795,031.04. The trade was a 6.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Terilyn J. Monroe sold 3,832 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.68, for a total value of $355,149.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 20,990 shares in the company, valued at $1,945,353.20. This represents a 15.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 58,596 shares of company stock valued at $5,791,767 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

About Guardant Health

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.