UBS Group Upgrades Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) to Strong-Buy

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) was upgraded by research analysts at UBS Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on VCYT. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on Veracyte from $57.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on Veracyte from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Veracyte in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Veracyte from $47.00 to $44.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their target price on Veracyte from $45.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Veracyte currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.78.

Veracyte Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of Veracyte stock opened at $40.87 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a PE ratio of 28.99 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a 50 day moving average of $49.01 and a 200-day moving average of $43.34. Veracyte has a 1-year low of $29.45 and a 1-year high of $60.91.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.13. Veracyte had a net margin of 20.37% and a return on equity of 9.26%. The business had revenue of $150.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $144.59 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.44 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Veracyte will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Veracyte

In related news, EVP Annie Mcguire sold 3,254 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.09, for a total transaction of $140,214.86. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 131,160 shares in the company, valued at $5,651,684.40. The trade was a 2.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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, Director Muna Bhanji sold 1,864 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.97, for a total value of $80,096.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 42,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,835,592.46. The trade was a 4.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 25,609 shares of company stock valued at $1,139,324. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VCYT. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in Veracyte in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in Veracyte during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Veracyte during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new position in Veracyte in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 679 shares during the period.

About Veracyte

Veracyte, Inc is a diagnostics company that develops and commercializes genomic tests designed to help physicians diagnose cancer, assess disease risk and guide treatment decisions. The company combines genomic data with bioinformatics and machine-learning technologies to provide clinically actionable information from patient tissue samples.

Veracyte’s portfolio includes Afirma tests for evaluating thyroid nodules, Decipher tests for assessing the risk and biological characteristics of prostate cancer, and Prosigna for classifying and evaluating recurrence risk in certain breast cancers.