Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Needham & Company LLC Analyst Says

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) had its price objective raised by stock analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $44.00 to $48.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target suggests a potential upside of 34.38% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on VCYT. Zacks Research raised shares of Veracyte from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Veracyte from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Veracyte from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Veracyte in a report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Veracyte from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.71.

Veracyte Stock Up 0.1%

NASDAQ:VCYT opened at $35.72 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.00 and a beta of 1.91. Veracyte has a twelve month low of $22.61 and a twelve month high of $50.71. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $40.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veracyte

In other news, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 13,278 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.84, for a total transaction of $621,941.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 109,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,128,792.64. The trade was a 10.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Karin Eastham sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.45, for a total value of $909,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 13,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $616,029.30. This represents a 59.61% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 54,385 shares of company stock valued at $2,483,179 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Veracyte by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 18,100 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $762,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of Veracyte by 1.8% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 23,158 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $795,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in shares of Veracyte by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 44,264 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,862,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Veracyte by 0.8% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 71,095 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,922,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares during the period. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Veracyte by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 7,894 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $332,000 after purchasing an additional 576 shares during the last quarter.

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.