Insider Selling: Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) CFO Sells 3,561 Shares of Stock

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 3,561 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.73, for a total transaction of $177,088.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 173,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,617,214.40. This trade represents a 2.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 Price Performance

Shares of Veracyte stock traded up $1.25 on Thursday, hitting $49.94. The company had a trading volume of 1,644,973 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,133,651. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.01. The company has a market cap of $3.98 billion, a PE ratio of 45.82 and a beta of 1.98. Veracyte, Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.61 and a 52 week high of $50.71.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VCYT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their target price on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $37.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Zacks Research cut shares of Veracyte from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a report on Friday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.57.

Key Veracyte News

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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VCYT. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 23.3% during 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 in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $5,805,000 after purchasing an additional 21,330 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 94.7% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 216,909 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,431,000 after purchasing an additional 105,499 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 54.1% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 42,762 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,268,000 after purchasing an additional 15,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 32.2% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 48,786 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,319,000 after purchasing an additional 11,889 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.