Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on VCYT. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of 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 research report on Monday, January 12th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Veracyte from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $37.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Veracyte currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.14.

Veracyte Stock Up 3.9%

VCYT stock opened at $32.13 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $38.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.11. The stock has a market cap of $2.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.71 and a beta of 1.91. Veracyte has a 52-week low of $22.61 and a 52-week high of $50.71.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $140.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $135.79 million. Veracyte had a return on equity of 8.05% and a net margin of 12.83%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.06 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Veracyte will post 0.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veracyte

In other Veracyte news, SVP Annie Mcguire sold 6,658 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.55, for a total transaction of $236,691.90. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 94,706 shares in the company, valued at $3,366,798.30. This represents a 6.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Marc Stapley sold 45,523 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.97, for a total transaction of $1,637,462.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 357,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,861,217.38. This represents a 11.29% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 86,521 shares of company stock valued at $3,185,270 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VCYT. First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in Veracyte during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in Veracyte by 289.9% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 893 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in Veracyte in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Veracyte in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 159.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 679 shares during the period.

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.