Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The biotechnology company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.01), Zacks reports. Veracyte had a net margin of 6.12% and a return on equity of 7.23%.

Veracyte Price Performance

Shares of VCYT stock traded up $0.03 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $35.72. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 664,523 shares, compared to its average volume of 814,425. Veracyte has a 1-year low of $22.61 and a 1-year high of $50.71. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $40.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.79. The company has a market capitalization of $2.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.00 and a beta of 1.91.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price target on Veracyte from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Veracyte currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Veracyte news, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 13,278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.84, for a total value of $621,941.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 109,496 shares in the company, valued at $5,128,792.64. The trade was a 10.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John Leite sold 1,278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.51, for a total value of $60,717.78. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 82,113 shares in the company, valued at $3,901,188.63. This represents a 1.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 54,385 shares of company stock worth $2,483,179 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veracyte

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Veracyte by 229.1% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 10,280 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $433,000 after buying an additional 7,156 shares in the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Veracyte in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,475,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Veracyte in the fourth quarter worth approximately $58,158,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Veracyte in the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in Veracyte during the 4th quarter worth approximately $962,000.

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.