Wall Street Zen Downgrades Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) to Buy

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

VCYT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a report on Monday, December 8th. Zacks Research raised shares of Veracyte from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Veracyte from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.43.

Veracyte Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ VCYT opened at $42.84 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a PE ratio of 112.74 and a beta of 1.82. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $40.15 and a 200-day moving average of $32.60. Veracyte has a 52-week low of $22.61 and a 52-week high of $50.71.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The biotechnology company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.19. Veracyte had a return on equity of 7.23% and a net margin of 6.12%.The business had revenue of $131.87 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $124.62 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.33 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Veracyte will post 0.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veracyte

In other news, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 13,278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.84, for a total value of $621,941.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 109,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,128,792.64. This represents a 10.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Evan/ Fa Jones sold 43,196 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.06, for a total transaction of $1,946,411.76. Following the sale, the director directly owned 30,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,372,888.08. The trade was a 58.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 134,528 shares of company stock valued at $5,896,433. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VCYT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Veracyte by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,504,088 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $291,945,000 after purchasing an additional 403,737 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of Veracyte by 16.6% in the third quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 7,370,467 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $253,028,000 after buying an additional 1,048,692 shares during the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Veracyte by 17.5% in the third quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 4,465,775 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $153,310,000 after acquiring an additional 665,686 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Veracyte by 0.4% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,169,700 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $85,677,000 after acquiring an additional 11,461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Veracyte by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,118,166 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $107,042,000 after acquiring an additional 95,664 shares during the last quarter.

Veracyte Company Profile

Veracyte, Inc engages in the research, development and commercialization of diagnostic products. The firm’s portfolio includes Afirma, Percepta, and Envisia. It intends to treat thyroid cancer, improve lung cancer screening, and clarify the diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The company was founded by Bonnie H.