Jefferies Financial Group Initiates Coverage on Guardian Pharmacy Services (NYSE:GRDN)

Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services (NYSE:GRDN) in a report released on Monday. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 28.68% from the stock’s current price.

GRDN has been the subject of several other reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services in a research note on Friday. Zacks Research upgraded Guardian Pharmacy Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Guardian Pharmacy Services from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Guardian Pharmacy Services presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $39.20.

Guardian Pharmacy Services Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of GRDN stock opened at $34.19 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $32.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.97. The company has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a PE ratio of 44.41 and a beta of 0.86. Guardian Pharmacy Services has a 12-month low of $19.17 and a 12-month high of $38.12.

Guardian Pharmacy Services (NYSE:GRDN) last posted its earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $390.04 million. Guardian Pharmacy Services had a return on equity of 31.64% and a net margin of 3.40%.The company’s revenue was up 17.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Guardian Pharmacy Services will post 0.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Guardian Pharmacy Services

In related news, insider David K. Morris sold 187,855 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.68, for a total transaction of $5,575,536.40. Following the sale, the insider owned 254,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,552,728.96. This represents a 42.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Equity Fund L.P. Cardinal sold 275,728 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.68, for a total value of $8,183,607.04. Following the transaction, the insider owned 345,123 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,243,250.64. This trade represents a 44.41% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 9,726,405 shares of company stock valued at $288,679,700 over the last ninety days. 63.71% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of GRDN. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new stake in Guardian Pharmacy Services during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. grew its stake in Guardian Pharmacy Services by 26.5% during the third quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Guardian Pharmacy Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $43,000. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey increased its holdings in Guardian Pharmacy Services by 76.8% in the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 2,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 1,062 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $58,000.

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.