Guardian Pharmacy Services (NYSE:GRDN) Sets New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services, Inc. (NYSE:GRDN) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $37.63 and last traded at $37.90, with a volume of 261565 shares. The stock had previously closed at $35.62.

Trending Headlines about Guardian Pharmacy Services

Here are the key news stories impacting Guardian Pharmacy Services this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Guardian announced it ended its “controlled company” status on the NYSE, a governance change that can broaden the free float and make the stock more attractive to institutional investors. Guardian Pharmacy Services Ends Controlled Company Status on NYSE
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary / stock-picking lists have included GRDN in a DuPont-analysis themed screen, which can increase attention but is not a material company update. Bet on Winning DuPont Analysis & Pick 5 Top Stocks
• Negative Sentiment: Major insider/director selling on March 20: multiple insiders and directors (including David K. Morris, Kendall Forbes, Fred Burke, John Ackerman, Thomas J. Salentine Jr., William E. Bindley) and a major shareholder (Equity Fund L.P. Cardinal) sold large blocks at an average price of $29.68. The filings show individual ownership drops in the 42%–76% range and aggregate proceeds of roughly $285–$295 million, signaling a material increase in supply and sparking market concern about insider confidence. Major Insider Exodus at Guardian Pharmacy Services Sparks Market Buzz

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Zacks Research raised Guardian Pharmacy Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services in a report on Monday, December 29th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Guardian Pharmacy Services from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed 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, five have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.00.

Guardian Pharmacy Services Trading Down 0.1%

The company has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.75 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a fifty day moving average of $32.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $29.83.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Guardian Pharmacy Services news, insider Kendall Forbes sold 346,672 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.68, for a total transaction of $10,289,224.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 453,256 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,452,638.08. This represents a 43.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Equity Fund L.P. Cardinal sold 275,728 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.68, for a total transaction of $8,183,607.04. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 345,123 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,243,250.64. The trade was a 44.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 9,726,405 shares of company stock worth $288,679,700 in the last 90 days. 63.71% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in Guardian Pharmacy Services by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,682,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,854,000 after buying an additional 79,652 shares during the last quarter. Valiant Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Valiant Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,232,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,085,000 after acquiring an additional 167,741 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services by 3.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,143,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000,000 after acquiring an additional 36,072 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services by 8.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,056,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,705,000 after acquiring an additional 80,033 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services by 9.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,055,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,675,000 after acquiring an additional 88,296 shares during the last quarter.

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.