Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $54.72 and last traded at $53.19, with a volume of 954513 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $53.63.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on VCYT. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Veracyte from $48.00 to $37.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a report on Friday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Veracyte in a research note on Monday, April 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Veracyte from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.57.

Veracyte Trading Up 5.5%

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.07 and a beta of 1.98. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.58.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $139.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $130.36 million. Veracyte had a net margin of 16.25% and a return on equity of 9.07%. The company’s revenue was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.31 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Veracyte

In other news, EVP Annie Mcguire sold 3,176 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.76, for a total value of $158,037.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 137,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,829,062.40. This trade represents a 2.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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. Also, insider John Leite sold 13,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.07, for a total value of $699,728.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 132,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,624,511.35. This trade represents a 9.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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. Insiders sold 206,696 shares of company stock valued at $10,079,058 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veracyte

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 289.9% during the second 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 bought a new position in shares of Veracyte in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Veracyte in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings 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. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Veracyte during the 3rd quarter valued at about $56,000.

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.