6. Guardant Health Inc. (NASDAQ:GH)
Guardant Health Inc. (NASDAQ: GH) ranks No. 6 among the best large-cap stocks to buy under $100, and this is one of the more growth-oriented names in the group. Trading at $94.92, down 3.79% based on the provided data, Guardant Health is not a traditional value stock. It is a precision oncology company operating in a high-growth but still investment-heavy healthcare niche. For investors searching for healthcare stocks under $100, biotech stocks, precision medicine stocks, cancer screening stocks, oncology stocks to buy, and large-cap growth stocks, Guardant Health offers a story built around strong revenue expansion, liquid biopsy technology, diagnostic innovation, and a major push into cancer screening.
On May 7, Guardant Health reported first-quarter 2026 total revenue of $301.7 million, up 48% year-over-year. That is a very strong growth rate for a company already operating at significant scale in the healthcare diagnostics space. The growth was broad across its portfolio. Oncology revenue rose 36% to $205.0 million, Biopharma & Data revenue increased 17% to $53.0 million, and Screening revenue surged more than 600% to $41.6 million. That screening number is particularly eye-catching because it suggests that Guardant is not only growing in its established oncology testing business but also scaling newer opportunities that could expand its total addressable market.
The company achieved a GAAP gross margin of 65% and a non-GAAP gross margin of 66%. For a healthcare diagnostics company, gross margin is important because it gives investors an idea of how profitable the testing platform can become as volume grows. High gross margins can create a pathway toward stronger operating leverage, although Guardant is not yet at the point where investors can ignore its losses. The company remains in investment mode, and that makes the stock more suitable for investors who can tolerate volatility.
Operating expenses rose during the quarter because Guardant continued expanding its commercial infrastructure and marketing efforts. As a result, the company posted a GAAP net loss of $112.1 million, or $0.85 per share, and a non-GAAP net loss of $58.7 million, or $0.45 per share. Adjusted EBITDA loss was $58.9 million, while free cash flow was negative $71.2 million. These numbers are important because they remind investors that high revenue growth does not automatically mean near-term profitability. Guardant is spending heavily to build its market position, and the success of the investment case depends on whether revenue growth, test adoption, reimbursement, and operating scale can eventually support a more profitable model.
The good news is that Guardant ended the quarter with a strong liquidity position. The company had $1.2 billion in cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and marketable securities. That cash balance gives Guardant flexibility to fund growth, commercial expansion, research and development, and product adoption efforts. In the healthcare innovation space, cash matters because companies often need years of investment before operating leverage fully shows up in the income statement.
Guardant also reported several important operational milestones. The company expanded Guardant360 Tissue capabilities, secured FDA companion diagnostic approval for Guardant360 CDx, and entered partnerships with Quest and Manulife. These developments are not minor. Companion diagnostic approvals can strengthen a company’s position in oncology treatment selection, while partnerships can expand access, distribution, payer relationships, and market awareness. The wider the clinical and commercial network becomes, the better the chance that Guardant’s testing platform becomes more deeply embedded in cancer care workflows.
The trivia behind Guardant’s business is that cancer diagnostics has changed dramatically over the past decade. Historically, cancer testing often depended heavily on tissue biopsies, which can be invasive, difficult to repeat, and not always practical for every patient. Liquid biopsy technology, which can analyze cancer-related signals from blood samples, has opened a new area in precision oncology. It can potentially help doctors detect mutations, guide treatment decisions, monitor disease progression, and screen for cancer earlier. Guardant is one of the companies trying to turn this scientific shift into a scalable commercial platform.
Because of its strong first-quarter momentum, Guardant raised its full-year 2026 revenue guidance to a range of $1.30 billion to $1.32 billion, representing 32% to 34% growth over the prior year. That is the heart of the bullish argument. Investors are not buying Guardant for near-term earnings stability. They are looking at the pace of revenue growth, the expansion of screening, the company’s role in precision oncology, and the possibility that its platform becomes more valuable as cancer care moves toward earlier detection and more personalized treatment.
Guardant Health is a precision oncology firm, and its place on this list reflects the market’s continuing interest in healthcare innovation stocks under $100. The risk is clear: losses remain significant, free cash flow is negative, and the company must continue proving that its growth can translate into a stronger financial model. But the opportunity is also clear. With revenue growing 48%, screening revenue surging, FDA-related milestones advancing, and full-year guidance moving higher, Guardant Health is one of the more aggressive large-cap growth stocks under $100 that investors may want to monitor closely.
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Disclosure: No material interests to disclose. This article was originally published on Global Market Bulletin.
