Guardant Health Price Target Raised to $190

BTIG Names Guardant Health Top Health‑Care Pick

BTIG has elevated Guardant Health to its premier health‑care recommendation, maintaining a Buy rating while increasing its price target from $160 to $190. The firm applied a 14.4‑times multiple to Guardant’s projected 2028 revenue of $2.2 billion, discounting the valuation back 2.5 years at a 10 percent discount rate and assuming approximately 131 million shares outstanding.

UnitedHealthcare Coverage Announcement

UnitedHealthcare announced commercial coverage for Guardant’s Shield blood test, a colorectal cancer screening assay, effective August 1 2026. The coverage applies to asymptomatic individuals aged 45 to 75 and does not restrict Shield to second‑line use, positioning it alongside Cologuard as a first‑line screening option. The decision follows the test’s FDA approval on July 29 2024 and arrives roughly one to two years earlier than BTIG’s prior expectation, contrasting with the nearly three‑year gap experienced by Exact Sciences’ Cologuard.

Market Reaction and Analyst Updates

Following the coverage news, Guardant Health’s share price rose more than 8 percent, contributing to a 58 percent increase year‑to‑date. BTIG anticipates that other commercial insurers are likely to follow UnitedHealthcare’s lead in upcoming quarters. In parallel, BofA Securities raised its price target for Guardant to $190, and Bernstein increased its target to $200.

Additional Context

BTIG noted that the American Cancer Society’s updated screening guidelines, released on May 27 2026, may have influenced UnitedHealthcare’s coverage decision and could have broader significance for Guardant’s market adoption.

This article was generated with AI assistance and reviewed by an editor.