Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $42.00.

VCYT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wolfe Research began coverage on Veracyte in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim started coverage on Veracyte in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on Veracyte from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $37.00 price objective (down from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of Veracyte from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Leite sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.25, for a total transaction of $45,412.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 73,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,192,282.50. This trade represents a 1.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Jonathan Wygant sold 956 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.36, for a total value of $41,452.16. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 40,270 shares in the company, valued at $1,746,107.20. This trade represents a 2.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 24,038 shares of company stock worth $1,008,297. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Veracyte in the 2nd quarter worth about $12,279,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in Veracyte by 116.3% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 833,754 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $33,017,000 after purchasing an additional 448,251 shares in the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new position in Veracyte in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $9,498,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in Veracyte by 288.6% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 360,871 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $12,284,000 after buying an additional 268,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 276.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 301,652 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $10,268,000 after buying an additional 221,504 shares during the period.

Veracyte Price Performance

Shares of VCYT opened at $46.14 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.58 billion, a PE ratio of -307.60 and a beta of 1.71. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $42.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.21. Veracyte has a 12-month low of $18.61 and a 12-month high of $47.32.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.16. Veracyte had a negative net margin of 2.18% and a positive return on equity of 3.02%. The company had revenue of $115.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.81 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.03) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Veracyte will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Veracyte Company Profile

Veracyte, Inc engages in the research, development and commercialization of diagnostic products. The firm’s portfolio includes Afirma, Percepta, and Envisia. It intends to treat thyroid cancer, improve lung cancer screening, and clarify the diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The company was founded by Bonnie H.