Insider Selling: Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) CEO Sells 138,051 Shares of Stock

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) CEO Marc Stapley sold 138,051 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.12, for a total value of $6,919,116.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 440,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,077,559.28. This trade represents a 23.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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.

Veracyte Trading Up 2.6%

NASDAQ:VCYT traded up $1.25 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $49.94. The company had a trading volume of 1,644,973 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,133,651. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.82 and a beta of 1.98. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.01. Veracyte, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.61 and a 12-month high of $50.71.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.18. Veracyte had a return on equity of 9.07% and a net margin of 16.25%.The company had revenue of $139.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $130.36 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.31 earnings per share. Veracyte’s quarterly revenue was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.28 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VCYT. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on Veracyte from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Veracyte from $48.00 to $37.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Veracyte in a report on Monday, April 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 target price for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Veracyte in a report on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.57.

Institutional Trading of Veracyte

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VCYT. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 23.3% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 12.2% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 195,793 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,805,000 after acquiring an additional 21,330 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 94.7% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 216,909 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,431,000 after acquiring an additional 105,499 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 54.1% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 42,762 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,268,000 after acquiring an additional 15,017 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 32.2% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 48,786 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,319,000 after acquiring an additional 11,889 shares during the period.

Veracyte News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Veracyte this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wolfe Research upgraded Veracyte to “strong-buy,” a fresh bullish signal that can attract momentum and analyst-following investors.
• Positive Sentiment: Veracyte has remained strong since its last earnings report, with the stock up materially over the past month as investors continue to reward its better-than-expected results and growth outlook. Why Is Veracyte (VCYT) Up 18.2% Since Last Earnings Report?
• Positive Sentiment: Recent presentations and ASCO-related updates on OPTIMA and ENZAMET may be supporting confidence in Veracyte’s oncology pipeline and longer-term growth story.
• Neutral Sentiment: Canaccord Genuity reiterated a hold rating, which does not materially change the outlook but suggests some analysts remain cautious. Canaccord Genuity Reaffirms Their Hold Rating on Veracyte (VCYT)
• Neutral Sentiment: Several insiders, including the CEO, CFO, and another executive, sold shares under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans to cover tax withholding tied to equity vesting. While large in dollar value, these sales are typically viewed as routine and not necessarily a sign of deteriorating fundamentals.

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.