Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Piper Sandler started coverage on Veracyte in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Veracyte in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Veracyte from $37.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Veracyte presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.43.

Veracyte Stock Down 1.5%

NASDAQ:VCYT opened at $56.62 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $4.52 billion, a PE ratio of 51.94 and a beta of 1.93. Veracyte has a 12 month low of $22.61 and a 12 month high of $60.91. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $49.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.05.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John Leite sold 13,975 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 132,305 shares in the company, valued at $6,624,511.35. The trade was a 9.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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, EVP Annie Mcguire sold 3,176 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.76, for a total transaction of $158,037.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 137,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,829,062.40. This trade represents a 2.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 valued at $10,079,058 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veracyte

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 5,435 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its position in 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 during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in 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 during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 32.2% in 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 during 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.