Guardian Pharmacy Services, Inc. (NYSE:GRDN) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services, Inc. (NYSE:GRDN) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $41.3333.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on GRDN shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Guardian Pharmacy Services in a report on Monday, March 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $44.00 price target for the company. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Bank of America started coverage on Guardian Pharmacy Services in a report on Monday, April 27th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $42.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial upped their price target on Guardian Pharmacy Services from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price target on Guardian Pharmacy Services from $38.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th.

Guardian Pharmacy Services Price Performance

NYSE GRDN opened at $43.04 on Friday. Guardian Pharmacy Services has a 12 month low of $19.17 and a 12 month high of $43.86. The company has a 50-day moving average of $38.22 and a 200-day moving average of $34.08. The company has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.08.

Guardian Pharmacy Services (NYSE:GRDN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $336.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $329.89 million. Guardian Pharmacy Services had a net margin of 3.64% and a return on equity of 30.72%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.22 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Guardian Pharmacy Services will post 1.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Guardian Pharmacy Services

In other news, insider Kendall Forbes sold 346,672 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 $10,289,224.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 453,256 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,452,638.08. This represents a 43.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Fred Burke sold 671,432 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 $19,928,101.76. Following the transaction, the insider owned 840,413 shares in the company, valued at $24,943,457.84. This trade represents a 44.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,726,405 shares of company stock worth $288,679,700. 32.96% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Guardian Pharmacy Services

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GRDN. CSM Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services by 40.9% during the third quarter. CSM Advisors LLC now owns 135,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,559,000 after purchasing an additional 39,360 shares during the period. Aristotle Capital Boston LLC increased its holdings in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services by 58.5% during the third quarter. Aristotle Capital Boston LLC now owns 649,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,035,000 after purchasing an additional 239,790 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services by 274.9% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 19,017 shares of the company’s stock valued at $572,000 after purchasing an additional 13,945 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services during the fourth quarter valued at $3,489,000. Finally, TimesSquare Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Guardian Pharmacy Services by 5.6% during the third quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC now owns 860,173 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,562,000 after purchasing an additional 45,950 shares during the period.

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.