Analysts Set Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Price Target at $50.43

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nine analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $50.4286.

VCYT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Veracyte in a research report on Monday, April 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research cut Veracyte from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Veracyte from $45.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on Veracyte from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th.

Veracyte Price Performance

NASDAQ:VCYT opened at $56.16 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.52 and a beta of 1.93. Veracyte has a 1 year low of $22.61 and a 1 year high of $60.91. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.54.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $139.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $130.36 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.31 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Veracyte will post 1.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Veracyte

In related news, CEO Marc Stapley sold 138,051 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.12, for a total value of $6,919,116.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 440,494 shares in the company, valued at $22,077,559.28. This trade represents a 23.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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. Also, EVP Annie Mcguire sold 3,176 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.76, for a total transaction of $158,037.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 137,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,829,062.40. This represents a 2.26% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. Insiders have sold a total of 206,696 shares of company stock worth $10,079,058 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in Veracyte in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Veracyte in the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Veracyte by 159.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 679 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Veracyte by 21.2% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,121 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Veracyte by 289.9% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 893 shares in the last quarter.

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.