Guardian Pharmacy Services (NYSE:GRDN) Trading Up 5.7% – What’s Next?

Guardian Pharmacy Services, Inc. (NYSE:GRDN) shares shot up 5.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $36.39 and last traded at $36.1020. 65,811 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average session volume of 335,240 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.16.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on GRDN. Zacks Research raised shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services in a research note on Friday. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services in a research report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price target for the company. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Guardian Pharmacy Services from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. One research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $39.20.

Guardian Pharmacy Services Trading Up 7.7%

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.97. The company has a market capitalization of $2.33 billion, a PE ratio of 47.75 and a beta of 0.86.

Guardian Pharmacy Services (NYSE:GRDN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 11th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.10. Guardian Pharmacy Services had a return on equity of 31.64% and a net margin of 3.40%.The business had revenue of $397.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $390.04 million. The firm’s revenue was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Guardian Pharmacy Services, Inc. will post 0.87 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Guardian Pharmacy Services

In other news, Director John Ackerman sold 1,103,364 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.68, for a total value of $32,747,843.52. Following the sale, the director owned 345,123 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,243,250.64. This represents a 76.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Equity Fund L.P. Cardinal sold 275,728 shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 345,123 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,243,250.64. This trade represents a 44.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 9,726,405 shares of company stock worth $288,679,700 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 63.71% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GRDN. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new stake in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Guardian Pharmacy Services in the second quarter worth $43,000. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey increased its stake in Guardian Pharmacy Services by 76.8% during the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 2,444 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,062 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Guardian Pharmacy Services during the second quarter valued at $58,000.

Guardian Pharmacy Services Company Profile

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.