Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Strong-Buy Rating

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 27th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Veracyte from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Veracyte from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Veracyte presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.14.

Veracyte Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of VCYT opened at $35.15 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 92.50 and a beta of 1.91. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $41.37 and a 200 day moving average of $37.00. Veracyte has a 12 month low of $22.61 and a 12 month high of $50.71.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 13,278 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.84, for a total value of $621,941.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 109,496 shares in the company, valued at $5,128,792.64. This trade represents a 10.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Karin Eastham sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.45, for a total transaction of $909,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 13,554 shares in the company, valued at $616,029.30. The trade was a 59.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 68,299 shares of company stock valued at $3,102,756. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veracyte

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VCYT. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Veracyte during the 4th quarter worth about $58,158,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Veracyte during the third quarter valued at about $40,064,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Veracyte by 20.7% during the second quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 6,321,775 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $170,878,000 after buying an additional 1,082,064 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 770.6% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 897,387 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $24,256,000 after buying an additional 794,307 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the third quarter worth about $26,348,000.

Veracyte Company Profile

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.