Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Stock Rating Cut to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on Veracyte from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Veracyte from $47.00 to $44.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Veracyte from $66.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Veracyte from $45.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Veracyte from $52.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $55.78.

Veracyte Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VCYT opened at $45.23 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.67. The firm has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a PE ratio of 32.08 and a beta of 1.95. Veracyte has a 1 year low of $29.45 and a 1 year high of $60.91.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.13. Veracyte had a net margin of 20.37% and a return on equity of 9.26%. The company had revenue of $150.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.59 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.44 earnings per share. Veracyte’s revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Veracyte will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Veracyte news, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 3,652 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.10, for a total value of $157,401.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 166,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,155,677.50. This trade represents a 2.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Jens Holstein sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.95, for a total transaction of $204,750.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 27,471 shares in the company, valued at $1,124,937.45. This represents a 15.40% 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 30,895 shares of company stock valued at $1,307,448. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veracyte

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Veracyte during the second quarter worth approximately $44,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in Veracyte in the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in Veracyte in the 2nd quarter valued at $62,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in Veracyte by 197.4% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,719 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 1,141 shares in the last quarter.

About Veracyte

Veracyte, Inc is a diagnostic company that develops and commercializes genomic tests designed to help physicians diagnose cancer, assess disease risk and guide treatment decisions. Its tests analyze genetic information from patient samples and are intended to provide more precise answers than traditional diagnostic methods alone.

The company’s portfolio includes Afirma genomic tests for thyroid nodules, Decipher tests for prostate cancer, Percepta tests for lung cancer and Envisio tests that support the evaluation of certain lung nodules.