Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $50.82 and last traded at $47.6820, with a volume of 679 shares. The stock had previously closed at $48.17.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VCYT. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a report on Friday, March 27th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Zacks Research lowered shares of Veracyte from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of Veracyte from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. 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 MarketBeat.com, Veracyte currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.57.

Veracyte Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $39.25. The firm has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.82 and a beta of 1.98.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last announced its 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 net margin of 16.25% and a return on equity of 9.07%. The business had revenue of $139.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $130.36 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John Leite sold 13,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.07, for a total value of $699,728.25. Following the sale, the insider owned 132,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,624,511.35. This trade represents a 9.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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. Also, CAO Jonathan Wygant sold 24,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.40, for a total transaction of $1,089,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 45,434 shares in the company, valued at $2,062,703.60. This represents a 34.57% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 202,967 shares of company stock valued at $9,881,831 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veracyte

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in Veracyte by 289.9% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 893 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in Veracyte in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Veracyte in the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Veracyte by 159.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the period. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in Veracyte in the third quarter worth approximately $56,000.

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.