Guardian Pharmacy Services, Inc. (NYSE:GRDN) Short Interest Up 48.8% in March

Guardian Pharmacy Services, Inc. (NYSE:GRDN) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 2,914,959 shares, an increase of 48.8% from the March 15th total of 1,959,541 shares. Approximately 6.9% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 783,270 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Guardian Pharmacy Services Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GRDN traded down $0.77 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $37.02. 331,540 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 668,500. The firm has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a PE ratio of 48.08 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.98. Guardian Pharmacy Services has a 12 month low of $19.17 and a 12 month high of $41.36.

Guardian Pharmacy Services (NYSE:GRDN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $397.62 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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, equities research analysts expect that Guardian Pharmacy Services will post 0.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Kendall Forbes sold 346,672 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 value of $10,289,224.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 453,256 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,452,638.08. This represents a 43.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director William E. Bindley sold 3,570,677 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.68, for a total transaction of $105,977,693.36. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,469,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $132,649,298.88. The trade was a 44.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 9,726,405 shares of company stock worth $288,679,700. 32.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services by 26.5% during the third quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in Guardian Pharmacy Services by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 17,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $541,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares in the last quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey boosted its stake in Guardian Pharmacy Services by 20.4% in the fourth quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 6,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $183,000 after purchasing an additional 1,028 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new position in Guardian Pharmacy Services in the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Guardian Pharmacy Services by 70.5% in the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 3,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 1,343 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Guardian Pharmacy Services in a report on Monday, March 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $44.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services in a report on Friday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.20.

About Guardian Pharmacy Services

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.