Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nine brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $46.1429.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on VCYT. Wall Street Zen raised Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Veracyte from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on Veracyte from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Veracyte from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th.

Veracyte Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of Veracyte stock opened at $43.05 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 113.29 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $43.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.09. Veracyte has a 52 week low of $22.61 and a 52 week high of $50.71.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The biotechnology company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.19. Veracyte had a net margin of 6.12% and a return on equity of 7.23%. The business had revenue of $131.87 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $124.62 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.33 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Veracyte will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veracyte

In other Veracyte news, Director Karin Eastham sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.45, for a total transaction of $909,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $616,029.30. The trade was a 59.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Leite sold 1,278 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.51, for a total transaction of $60,717.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 82,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,901,188.63. This trade represents a 1.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 134,635 shares of company stock worth $5,981,961. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veracyte

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in Veracyte in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Veracyte during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 289.9% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 893 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Veracyte by 146.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,454 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 864 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in Veracyte in the 3rd quarter valued at $56,000.

About Veracyte

Veracyte, Inc is a genomic diagnostics company focused on improving diagnostic accuracy and patient care through advanced molecular testing. Founded in 2008 and headquartered in South San Francisco, California, the company develops and commercializes minimally invasive genomic tests that aid in the diagnosis of thyroid, lung and other diseases. Veracyte’s proprietary platform analyzes gene expression patterns in clinical samples to help physicians make more informed treatment decisions, reducing unnecessary surgeries and improving patient outcomes.

The company’s flagship product, the Afirma Genomic Sequencing Classifier, is designed to assess thyroid nodules with indeterminate cytology, helping clinicians distinguish benign from suspicious nodules.