Insider Selling: Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) EVP Sells $140,214.86 in Stock

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) EVP Annie Mcguire sold 3,254 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.09, for a total value of $140,214.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 131,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,651,684.40. The trade was a 2.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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.

Veracyte Price Performance

Shares of Veracyte stock opened at $42.53 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.16 and a beta of 1.93. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $50.64 and its 200 day moving average is $43.18. Veracyte, Inc. has a 1 year low of $29.45 and a 1 year high of $60.91.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $150.32 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.59 million. Veracyte had a net margin of 20.37% and a return on equity of 9.26%. Veracyte’s revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.44 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Trending Headlines about Veracyte

Here are the key news stories impacting Veracyte this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Institutional ownership trends remain supportive. Bank of America, Royal Bank of Canada and William Blair increased their positions, while Summit Creek Advisors and Deutsche Bank initiated new stakes. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $54.33, above recent trading levels. Veracyte insider trading and institutional ownership report
• Neutral Sentiment: Veracyte’s most recent reported quarter showed earnings of $0.54 per share versus the $0.41 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 15.5% year over year to $150.32 million. These results provide a fundamental backdrop of continued growth, although they are not new developments in the latest disclosures.
• Negative Sentiment: EVP Annie McGuire sold 3,254 shares for approximately $140,215, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 3,652 shares for about $157,401, and insider Phillip Febbo sold 13,110 shares valued at roughly $564,386. Each transaction was executed through a 10b5-1 plan to cover taxes, and the sellers retained substantial positions, limiting the signal that management is broadly abandoning the stock. Veracyte executive stock sale filing
• Negative Sentiment: Director Muna Bhanji separately sold 1,864 shares for approximately $80,096, reducing her position by 4.18%. The sale was also pre-arranged, but the cluster of insider transactions may reinforce short-term caution among investors. Muna Bhanji Veracyte stock sale

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in Veracyte in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Veracyte during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new position in shares of Veracyte during the 2nd quarter valued at $62,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 159.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 21.2% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,121 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on VCYT shares. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $45.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Zacks Research raised Veracyte from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on Veracyte from $57.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings downgraded Veracyte from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Stephens dropped their price objective on Veracyte from $68.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Two equities research 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.33.

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.