BTIG expects results above consensus
BTIG maintained its Buy rating on October 27 while increasing its Guardant Health price target from $195 to $210. According to Investing.com, the firm also named Guardant its top pick in the sector, forecasting third-quarter revenue about 4% above consensus and a proportionate increase in full-year guidance.
The firm's forecast includes about 86,000 Shield tests, roughly 258% more than a year earlier and about 20,000 above the second-quarter total. Those figures remain analyst expectations ahead of the November 5 report.
Tickeron's earnings preview puts Wall Street's consensus revenue estimate at roughly $350.7 million, an increase of about 32% from $265.2 million a year earlier. Analysts expect a non-GAAP net loss of approximately $0.30 per share.
Growth behind the raised annual outlook
Quiver also cited Guardant's second-quarter performance and higher annual revenue forecast as potential support for the stock. Revenue for that quarter reached $335.0 million, up 44%, and the company raised its 2026 revenue guidance to a range of $1.34 billion to $1.36 billion.
The results, released July 30, showed Shield screening revenue of $53 million from approximately 66,000 tests, compared with $15 million from about 16,000 tests a year earlier. MarketBeat's report on the quarter also showed oncology testing volume of approximately 104,000, a 63% year-over-year increase, while Reveal volume more than doubled.
Guardant's annual outlook calls for 270,000 to 285,000 Shield tests and $218 million to $230 million in Shield revenue. Management also reaffirmed its goal of reaching company-wide cash-flow breakeven by the end of 2027.
Shield coverage expands, with another change due in November
UnitedHealth Group, the largest U.S. commercial insurer, began covering Shield on August 1, 2026, for colorectal cancer screening in average-risk adults ages 45 and older. It was the first major commercial insurer to provide that coverage. Guardant said the change, together with Shield's inclusion in American Cancer Society guidelines, brought estimated coverage to 70 million people, or roughly 60% of the U.S. addressable market.
A further expansion is scheduled for November 15, 2026. Guardant announced on September 1 that Shield would be covered under Carelon Healthcare Services clinical guidelines from that date. The company said the addition would bring total covered lives to approximately 90 million, representing 75% of eligible U.S. patients for colorectal cancer screening.
Cost and reimbursement targets
Guardant expects Shield's cost per test to decline roughly 15% by the end of 2026 from approximately $410. A newly FDA-approved workflow designed for higher throughput at lower cost is expected to help the company reach its longer-term target of $200 per test by 2028.
For Guardant360 Liquid CDx, the company said it remains on track to secure Advanced Diagnostic Laboratory Test, or ADLT, designation in the first half of 2027. Guardant expects a price of $8,455 under that designation, compared with the test's current Medicare price of $5,000. Management cautioned that Medicare Advantage and commercial payers could take 12 to 24 months to adopt the new price.
Trading disclosures and other analyst targets
Quiver recorded 79 open-market insider transactions in Guardant shares over the past six months: one purchase and 78 sales. Co-CEO Amirali Talasaz accounted for 22 sales totaling 557,500 shares, with an estimated value of $73,748,728.
Among institutional investors, Quiver counted 383 that added shares and 213 that reduced their holdings in their most recent quarter. In the second quarter of 2026, BlackRock cut its position by 3,930,824 shares, or 34.0%, while Ameriprise Financial added 1,736,011 shares, increasing its holding by 122.7%.
Quiver also reported that Representative Jonathan L. Jackson purchased up to $50,000 in Guardant stock on September 28. Across the 14 analysts that issued price targets for the stock during the past six months, the median target was $175.
