Traders Purchase Large Volume of Guardant Health Call Options (NASDAQ:GH)

Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Stock traders bought 15,891 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 967% compared to the typical volume of 1,490 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GH. Wolfe Research began coverage on Guardant Health in a report on Wednesday, December 13th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Guggenheim started coverage on Guardant Health in a report on Thursday, December 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Guardant Health from $60.00 to $45.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their target price on Guardant Health from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Guardant Health from $40.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.30.

Guardant Health Price Performance

Shares of GH stock traded up $2.67 on Thursday, hitting $20.63. 5,564,636 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,771,166. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.18, a current ratio of 6.54 and a quick ratio of 6.24. Guardant Health has a 12 month low of $16.92 and a 12 month high of $41.06. The stock has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.49 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a 50 day moving average of $20.62 and a 200 day moving average of $24.46.

Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The company reported ($1.58) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.93) by ($0.65). The firm had revenue of $155.05 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $151.71 million. Guardant Health had a negative return on equity of 301.94% and a negative net margin of 85.02%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Guardant Health will post -3.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Guardant Health

In other Guardant Health news, insider Kumud Kalia purchased 2,187 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $17.82 per share, with a total value of $38,972.34. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 12,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $226,706.04. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 6.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CWM LLC increased its position in Guardant Health by 137.1% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in shares of Guardant Health by 33.2% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 1,087 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Guardant Health during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Nelson Van Denburg & Campbell Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Guardant Health during the first quarter worth about $89,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Guardant Health in the 1st quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors own 92.60% of the company’s stock.

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.