Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Insider John Leite Sells 5,260 Shares of Stock

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) insider John Leite sold 5,260 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.19, for a total transaction of $185,099.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 107,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,785,740.20. This trade represents a 4.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Veracyte Stock Performance

Shares of VCYT stock traded down $0.83 on Friday, hitting $33.85. 964,111 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 893,715. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.78 and a beta of 1.91. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.02. Veracyte, Inc. has a one year low of $22.61 and a one year high of $50.71.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.12. Veracyte had a net margin of 12.83% and a return on equity of 8.05%. The business had revenue of $140.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $135.79 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.06 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Veracyte from $48.00 to $37.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Veracyte from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Veracyte from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Veracyte currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.14.

Institutional Trading of Veracyte

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VCYT. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Veracyte by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 18,100 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $762,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in Veracyte by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 23,158 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $795,000 after buying an additional 419 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in shares of Veracyte by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 44,264 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,862,000 after buying an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in shares of Veracyte by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 71,095 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,922,000 after buying an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Veracyte by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 7,894 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $332,000 after buying an additional 576 shares during the period.

About Veracyte

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.