Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Director Muna Bhanji Sells 1,864 Shares of Company Stock

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Director Muna Bhanji sold 1,864 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.70, for a total transaction of $81,456.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 40,854 shares in the company, valued at $1,785,319.80. This represents a 4.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Muna Bhanji also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, September 1st, Muna Bhanji sold 1,864 shares of Veracyte stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.97, for a total transaction of $80,096.08.

Veracyte Stock Performance

Veracyte stock traded up $0.99 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $44.79. 1,136,404 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,143,174. Veracyte, Inc. has a 52-week low of $29.45 and a 52-week high of $60.91. The firm has a market cap of $3.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.77 and a beta of 1.95. The company’s 50-day moving average is $43.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.25.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.13. Veracyte had a net margin of 20.37% and a return on equity of 9.26%. The company had revenue of $150.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.59 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.44 earnings per share. Veracyte’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.32 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veracyte

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Abel Hall LLC boosted its stake in Veracyte by 3.6% in the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 6,511 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its position in Veracyte by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 643,021 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $29,605,000 after purchasing an additional 4,088 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. bought a new position in Veracyte during the 3rd quarter worth $89,971,000. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in Veracyte during the 2nd quarter worth $993,000. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new position in Veracyte during the 2nd quarter worth $540,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VCYT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Veracyte from $47.00 to $44.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Veracyte from $52.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $68.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on shares of Veracyte from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.78.

About Veracyte

Veracyte, Inc is a diagnostics company that develops genomic tests to help physicians diagnose cancer, assess disease risk and guide treatment decisions. Its tests are designed to provide additional molecular information from patient samples, often helping reduce uncertainty and support more personalized care.

The company’s portfolio includes Afirma tests for thyroid nodules, Decipher tests for prostate cancer, Percepta tests for lung cancer and Envisio tests for breast cancer. Veracyte also develops and commercializes additional genomic assays intended for use across various cancer types and clinical settings.

Founded in 2008 and headquartered in South San Francisco, California, Veracyte primarily serves the U.S.