The Pennant Group (NASDAQ:PNTG – Get Free Report) and Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH – Get Free Report) are both healthcare companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, earnings, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.
Volatility & Risk
The Pennant Group has a beta of 1.27, suggesting that its stock price is 27% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Guardant Health has a beta of 1.57, suggesting that its stock price is 57% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Valuation and Earnings
This table compares The Pennant Group and Guardant Health”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| The Pennant Group | $947.71 million | 1.49 | $29.58 million | $0.90 | 45.00 |
| Guardant Health | $982.02 million | 24.29 | -$416.28 million | ($3.49) | -50.93 |
The Pennant Group has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Guardant Health. Guardant Health is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than The Pennant Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Profitability
This table compares The Pennant Group and Guardant Health’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| The Pennant Group | 2.93% | 10.33% | 4.20% |
| Guardant Health | -38.33% | N/A | -25.40% |
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for The Pennant Group and Guardant Health, as provided by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| The Pennant Group | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 2.88 |
| Guardant Health | 1 | 0 | 23 | 1 | 2.96 |
The Pennant Group presently has a consensus target price of $41.60, suggesting a potential upside of 2.72%. Guardant Health has a consensus target price of $188.12, suggesting a potential upside of 5.85%. Given Guardant Health’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Guardant Health is more favorable than The Pennant Group.
Insider & Institutional Ownership
85.9% of The Pennant Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.6% of Guardant Health shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.9% of The Pennant Group shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.6% of Guardant Health shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Summary
Guardant Health beats The Pennant Group on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
About The Pennant Group
The Pennant Group, Inc. provides healthcare services in the United States. It operates in two segments, Home Health and Hospice Services, and Senior Living Services. The company offers home health services, including clinical services, such as nursing, speech, occupational and physical therapy, medical social work, and home health aide services; and hospice services comprising clinical care, education, and counseling services for the physical, spiritual, and psychosocial needs of terminally ill patients and their families. It also provides senior living services, such as residential accommodations, activities, meals, housekeeping, and assistance in the activities of daily living to seniors who are independent or who require some support. The company operates home health, hospice, and home care agencies, as well as senior living communities throughout Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. The Pennant Group, Inc. was incorporated in 2019 and is headquartered in Eagle, Idaho.
About Guardant Health
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. It offers Shield Test; Guardant Reveal Test for adjuvant treatment selection in early-stage cancer patients; Smart Liquid Biopsy Platform; and Guardant Galaxy, an AI-backed digital pathology platform that helps improve cancer biomarker detection. In addition, the company offers development services, including companion diagnostic development and regulatory approval, clinical study setup, monitoring and maintenance, testing development and support, technologies licensing, and kits fulfillment. The company has a collaboration agreement with Illumina, Inc. for the sharing of specimen samples to advance cancer research. The company was incorporated in 2011 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.
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