Muna Bhanji Sells 1,864 Shares of Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Stock

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Director Muna Bhanji sold 1,864 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.97, for a total value of $80,096.08. Following the sale, the director directly owned 42,718 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,835,592.46. This represents a 4.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Veracyte Stock Performance

Veracyte stock traded down $0.21 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $44.67. 673,666 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,097,795. The company has a market cap of $3.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.68 and a beta of 1.93. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $51.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.06. Veracyte, Inc. has a 52-week low of $29.45 and a 52-week high of $60.91.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $150.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $144.59 million. Veracyte had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 20.37%.The company’s revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.44 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Veracyte

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of Veracyte by 23.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 28,712 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $852,000 after acquiring an additional 5,435 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 12.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 21,330 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 94.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 54.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 32.2% during 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VCYT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Veracyte from $57.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Veracyte from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $66.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Stephens cut their target price on shares of Veracyte from $68.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on Veracyte from $45.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.33.

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.