Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) CFO Sells $662,843.74 in Stock

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 18,341 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.14, for a total value of $662,843.74. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 131,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,741,423.44. The trade was a 12.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Veracyte Trading Down 2.4%

NASDAQ:VCYT opened at $33.85 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.69 billion, a PE ratio of 40.78 and a beta of 1.91. Veracyte, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.61 and a 1-year high of $50.71. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.14.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $140.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $135.79 million. Veracyte had a net margin of 12.83% and a return on equity of 8.05%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.06 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VCYT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded Veracyte from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Wall Street Zen raised Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Veracyte from $48.00 to $37.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Monday, January 12th. One 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.14.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veracyte

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of VCYT. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Veracyte during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in Veracyte in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Veracyte by 289.9% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 893 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in Veracyte in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Veracyte during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000.

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.