Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Veracyte in a research report on Monday, April 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on Veracyte from $42.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.88.

Veracyte Trading Up 5.1%

VCYT opened at $59.51 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $4.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.60 and a beta of 1.93. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.17. Veracyte has a 12-month low of $22.61 and a 12-month high of $60.91.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $139.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $130.36 million. Veracyte had a net margin of 16.25% and a return on equity of 9.07%. The company’s revenue was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.31 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Veracyte will post 1.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Veracyte

In related news, Director Karin Eastham sold 3,729 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.89, for a total transaction of $197,226.81. Following the sale, the director directly owned 15,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $798,480.33. This represents a 19.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Marc Stapley sold 138,051 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.12, for a total transaction of $6,919,116.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 440,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,077,559.28. This trade represents a 23.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 sold a total of 206,696 shares of company stock worth $10,079,058 in the last ninety days. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veracyte

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VCYT. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in 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 during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake 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 worth $5,805,000 after purchasing an additional 21,330 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 94.7% during the first 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 54.1% during the first 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. boosted its position in shares of Veracyte by 32.2% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 48,786 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,319,000 after buying an additional 11,889 shares during 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.