KBC Group NV Boosts Stake in Guardant Health, Inc. $GH

KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Guardant Health, Inc. (NASDAQ:GH) by 140.5% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 7,537 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,403 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Guardant Health were worth $696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. World Investment Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Guardant Health in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,664,000. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd lifted its position in Guardant Health by 197.8% during the fourth quarter. Capricorn Fund Managers Ltd now owns 107,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,009,000 after buying an additional 71,587 shares in the last quarter. F m Investments LLC boosted its stake in Guardant Health by 24.1% during the fourth quarter. F m Investments LLC now owns 58,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,982,000 after buying an additional 11,363 shares during the last quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Guardant Health by 140.7% during the fourth quarter. Legato Capital Management LLC now owns 26,076 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,663,000 after buying an additional 15,241 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in Guardant Health by 48.3% in the 4th quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,045,917 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,781,000 after buying an additional 340,700 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.60% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Guardant Health news, CFO Michael Brian Bell sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.62, for a total transaction of $257,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 47,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,110,607.58. This trade represents a 4.04% 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, Director Myrtle S. Potter sold 1,556 shares of Guardant Health stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.16, for a total transaction of $204,084.96. Following the sale, the director owned 20,971 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,750,556.36. This represents a 6.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 708,565 shares of company stock worth $90,556,597. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Guardant Health Stock Down 1.9%

NASDAQ:GH opened at $147.33 on Friday. Guardant Health, Inc. has a 52 week low of $40.35 and a 52 week high of $174.08. The company has a market capitalization of $19.54 billion, a P/E ratio of -43.46 and a beta of 1.59. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $139.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $111.95.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on GH shares. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their target price on Guardant Health from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Guardant Health in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Piper Sandler set a $127.00 price objective on shares of Guardant Health in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Guardant Health from $135.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Guardant Health in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $185.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $160.04.

About Guardant Health

Guardant Health, Inc is a precision oncology company specializing in blood-based cancer diagnostics. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Redwood City, California, the company develops non-invasive tests that use circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) to profile genomic alterations in patients with solid tumors. Guardant Health’s mission is to advance cancer care by providing actionable data to clinicians, pharmaceutical partners and researchers worldwide.

The company’s flagship product, Guardant360, is a next-generation sequencing (NGS) assay designed to detect mutations, copy number variations and select fusions in more than 70 cancer-related genes.