Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH) Shares Down 6.9% After Earnings Miss

Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH) fell 6.9% during mid-day trading on Friday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as low as $43.60 and last traded at $44.12. 2,146,754 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 13% from the average session volume of 2,455,924 shares. The stock had previously closed at $47.40.

The company reported ($0.90) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.75) by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $201.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $192.50 million. Guardant Health had a negative net margin of 74.02% and a negative return on equity of 1,200.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $59.00 target price (up previously from $39.00) on shares of Guardant Health in a research report on Friday. Barclays started coverage on Guardant Health in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Guardant Health from $36.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Guardant Health from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Guardant Health in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Eighteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $44.39.

Insider Buying and Selling at Guardant Health

In other Guardant Health news, Director Musa Tariq sold 2,320 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $81,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $93,660. The trade was a 46.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 2,652 shares of company stock valued at $93,192 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Guardant Health

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Guardant Health during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. JNBA Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Guardant Health during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Guardant Health during the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Guardant Health in the third quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in Guardant Health in the fourth quarter worth about $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.60% of the company’s stock.

Guardant Health Stock Down 8.1 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.29 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $40.03 and a 200 day moving average of $31.51.

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.