Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Shares Up 6.5% – Here’s Why

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) rose 6.5% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $45.49 and last traded at $46.6530. Approximately 99,915 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 91% from the average daily volume of 1,113,705 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.82.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VCYT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on Veracyte from $52.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their target price on Veracyte from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Piper Sandler dropped their target price 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Veracyte from $47.00 to $44.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Stephens lowered their price objective 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Veracyte has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.78.

Veracyte Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $43.68. The firm has a market cap of $3.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.42 and a beta of 1.93.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $150.32 million for 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.44 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Veracyte

In related news, insider Phillip G. Febbo sold 13,110 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.05, for a total transaction of $564,385.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 133,048 shares in the company, valued at $5,727,716.40. This represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 3,652 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.10, for a total transaction of $157,401.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 166,025 shares in the company, valued at $7,155,677.50. The trade was a 2.15% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 30,895 shares of company stock worth $1,307,448. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veracyte

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Veracyte by 14.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,448,897 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $46,669,000 after buying an additional 185,929 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Veracyte during the 2nd quarter worth $1,583,000. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Veracyte by 66.4% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 573,096 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $18,459,000 after acquiring an additional 228,720 shares during the last quarter. Summit Creek Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the 2nd quarter worth $6,986,000. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the 2nd quarter worth $3,851,000.

Veracyte Company Profile

Veracyte, Inc is a diagnostics company that develops and commercializes genomic tests designed to help physicians diagnose cancer, assess disease risk and guide treatment decisions. The company combines genomic data with bioinformatics and machine-learning technologies to provide clinically actionable information from patient tissue samples.

Veracyte’s portfolio includes Afirma tests for evaluating thyroid nodules, Decipher tests for assessing the risk and biological characteristics of prostate cancer, and Prosigna for classifying and evaluating recurrence risk in certain breast cancers.