Stifel on Thursday raised its targeted share price for Guardant Health to $130 from $120 and reiterated a Buy rating on the stock. The firm cited the company’s recently issued 2026 guidance as the catalyst for the move, characterizing the outlook as a balance between a commercial scale-up of the Shield product and an emphasis on tighter operational spending in research and development and general and administrative categories.
Stifel signaled that the guidance appears to incorporate a conservative bias, leaving room for several discrete upside drivers to surface as the year progresses. The analysts said their discussion with management focused primarily on the 2026 guide after adjusting for the top-line beat that followed the JPM preannouncement.
Describing Guardant Health’s narrative as two-pronged, Stifel noted a core oncology business that is expanding through volume-driven growth and moving toward profitability, alongside a screening franchise that is accelerating into a large total addressable market but is still several years away from returning a profit.
Key financials mentioned by the firm underline mixed progress: Guardant posted 30% revenue growth over the trailing twelve months and reported a gross profit margin of 64%, yet it reported negative earnings per share of $3.21 and remains unprofitable. An InvestingPro analysis flagged the shares as trading above its Fair Value estimate, and one Pro tip cited by that service indicates that analysts do not expect the company to reach profitability this year.
Stifel said the price-target adjustment is intended to reflect forward multiple expansion the firm believes Guardant has earned, while the team continues to monitor catalysts and upside opportunities that could further support valuation.
Recent operational and research developments were also highlighted. Guardant Health reported fourth-quarter 2025 results that included $35.1 million in Shield revenue. In reaction to the company’s preliminary and finalized results, other brokerages have altered their models and recommendations.
- Canaccord Genuity raised its price target to $135 and maintained a Buy rating, citing higher revenue assumptions in its long-term forecast.
- Baird initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and set a $120 price target, while tagging the company with a Speculative Risk designation.
- Canaccord also reiterated a Buy stance with a $125 price target following preliminary results that beat estimates.
Clinical evidence and regulatory milestones that relate to Guardant’s diagnostic pipeline were also noted in recent communications. A study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, conducted in collaboration with Mayo Clinic and the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology and involving more than 2,000 patients, reported that Guardant’s circulating tumor DNA blood test better predicts colon cancer recurrence than traditional approaches. Separately, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Guardant360 CDx to identify patients with BRAF V600E-mutant metastatic colorectal cancer, an approval supported by data from Pfizer’s Phase 3 BREAKWATER trial demonstrating improved outcomes with certain treatment combinations.
The combination of nascent but accelerating screening revenue, continued strength in the oncology business, and the presence of tangible clinical and regulatory validation helps explain why multiple firms are updating assumptions and targets. However, the company’s unprofitable status and the screening business’ distance from profitability temper near-term valuation justification in some analysts’ views.
Investors and market participants will likely be watching how management executes on the stated operational expense discipline, whether Shield sustains commercial momentum, and which discrete upside drivers mentioned by Stifel materialize over the coming quarters.