Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Veracyte from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. UBS Group increased their target price on Veracyte from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Guggenheim raised their price target on Veracyte from $45.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Veracyte in a report on Monday, April 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.43.

Veracyte Trading Down 0.1%

VCYT stock opened at $56.12 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.49 and a beta of 1.93. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.64. Veracyte has a twelve month low of $22.61 and a twelve month high of $60.91.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $139.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $130.36 million. Veracyte had a return on equity of 9.07% and a net margin of 16.25%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.31 EPS. Research analysts predict that Veracyte will post 1.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Veracyte

In related news, insider John Leite sold 13,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider directly owned 132,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,624,511.35. This represents a 9.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 Karin Eastham sold 3,729 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 15,097 shares in the company, valued at approximately $798,480.33. This trade represents a 19.81% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders sold 206,696 shares of company stock worth $10,079,058 in the last quarter. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veracyte

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Veracyte by 23.6% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,324,965 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $45,486,000 after acquiring an additional 253,033 shares during the last quarter. Westview Management dba Westview Investment Advisors bought a new stake in Veracyte in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,376,000. Iron Triangle Partners LP bought a new stake in Veracyte in the 3rd quarter valued at about $16,650,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Veracyte by 54.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 518,850 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $17,812,000 after purchasing an additional 181,872 shares during the period. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc boosted its stake in Veracyte by 19.5% during the 4th quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 489,418 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $20,604,000 after purchasing an additional 79,817 shares during the period.

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.