Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Shares Down 4.5% Following Insider Selling

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) traded down 4.5% during trading on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $42.90 and last traded at $42.6380. 314,886 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 1,092,962 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.67.

Specifically, Director Muna Bhanji sold 1,864 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 42,718 shares in the company, valued at $1,835,592.46. The trade was a 4.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on VCYT. Zacks Research upgraded Veracyte from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Veracyte from $47.00 to $44.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Veracyte from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Veracyte from $45.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.33.

Veracyte Stock Down 4.6%

The stock has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.27 and a beta of 1.93. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.13.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veracyte

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Veracyte by 23.3% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 28,712 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $852,000 after buying an additional 5,435 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 21,330 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in Veracyte by 94.7% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 216,909 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,431,000 after purchasing an additional 105,499 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Veracyte by 54.1% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 42,762 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,268,000 after purchasing an additional 15,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Veracyte by 32.2% in 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 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.