Insider Selling: Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) EVP Sells $158,037.76 in Stock

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) EVP Annie Mcguire sold 3,176 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.76, for a total value of $158,037.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 137,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,829,062.40. The trade was a 2.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Annie Mcguire also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, May 6th, Annie Mcguire sold 10,204 shares of Veracyte stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.02, for a total value of $398,160.08.

Veracyte Stock Down 2.4%

NASDAQ VCYT opened at $48.73 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.71 and a beta of 1.98. Veracyte, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.61 and a twelve month high of $50.71. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.08.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $139.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $130.36 million. Veracyte had a return on equity of 9.07% and a net margin of 16.25%.Veracyte’s quarterly revenue was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.31 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VCYT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Monday, April 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of Veracyte from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.57.

More Veracyte News

Here are the key news stories impacting Veracyte this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Veracyte has stayed sharply higher since its latest earnings report, suggesting investors are still encouraged by the company’s recent beat on both earnings and revenue and its improved growth outlook. Why Is Veracyte (VCYT) Up 18.2% Since Last Earnings Report?
• Positive Sentiment: The company also highlighted ASCO findings from its OPTIMA and ENZAMET Phase III trials in breast and prostate cancer, which could support Veracyte’s precision-diagnostics growth story. Veracyte, Inc. (VCYT) Discusses ASCO Findings From OPTIMA and ENZAMET Phase III Trials in Breast and Prostate Cancer – Slideshow

Institutional Trading of Veracyte

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Veracyte during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Veracyte during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Veracyte by 159.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Veracyte during the 3rd quarter worth about $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.