Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Trading Down 9.2% – Here’s Why

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) shares were down 9.2% on Friday . The company traded as low as $30.06 and last traded at $29.7740. Approximately 688,844 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 24% from the average daily volume of 904,164 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.80.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VCYT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $37.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Veracyte from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Wall Street Zen raised Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 27th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Veracyte from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $45.20.

Veracyte Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.87 and a beta of 1.91. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.27.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Veracyte news, insider John Leite sold 5,260 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,740.20. This trade represents a 4.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Marc Stapley sold 45,523 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.97, for a total value of $1,637,462.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 357,554 shares in the company, valued at $12,861,217.38. This represents a 11.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 75,782 shares of company stock valued at $2,722,097. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veracyte

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Veracyte by 23.3% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 28,712 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $852,000 after purchasing an additional 5,435 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of Veracyte by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 195,793 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,805,000 after purchasing an additional 21,330 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 94.7% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 216,909 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,431,000 after buying an additional 105,499 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in Veracyte by 54.1% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 42,762 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,268,000 after buying an additional 15,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Veracyte by 409.5% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 19,947 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $539,000 after buying an additional 16,032 shares in the last quarter.

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.