Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $55.78

Shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $55.78.

VCYT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on shares of Veracyte from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $47.00 to $44.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Stephens lowered their target price on shares of Veracyte from $68.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Veracyte from $52.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Veracyte from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday.

Insider Activity

In other Veracyte news, insider John Leite sold 4,015 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $160,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 124,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,973,160. The trade was a 3.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 3,652 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.10, for a total value of $157,401.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 166,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,155,677.50. The trade was a 2.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 30,895 shares of company stock valued at $1,307,448. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veracyte

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VCYT. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 14.7% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,448,897 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $46,669,000 after purchasing an additional 185,929 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Veracyte during the second quarter worth about $1,583,000. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 66.4% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 573,096 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $18,459,000 after buying an additional 228,720 shares in the last quarter. Summit Creek Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Veracyte during the second quarter worth about $6,986,000. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Veracyte during the second quarter worth about $3,851,000.

Veracyte Trading Down 2.1%

NASDAQ:VCYT opened at $43.11 on Friday. Veracyte has a 1-year low of $29.45 and a 1-year high of $60.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.96 and a beta of 1.95. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $43.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.90.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $150.32 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.59 million. Veracyte had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 20.37%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.44 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Veracyte will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Veracyte Company Profile

Veracyte, Inc is a diagnostic company that develops and commercializes genomic tests designed to help physicians diagnose cancer, assess disease risk and guide treatment decisions. Its tests analyze genetic information from patient samples and are intended to provide more precise answers than traditional diagnostic methods alone.

The company’s portfolio includes Afirma genomic tests for thyroid nodules, Decipher tests for prostate cancer, Percepta tests for lung cancer and Envisio tests that support the evaluation of certain lung nodules.