Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Trading Up 9.9% After Analyst Upgrade

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)’s share price was up 9.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $46.00 to $49.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Veracyte traded as high as $35.95 and last traded at $36.77. Approximately 451,819 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 46% from the average daily volume of 835,314 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.46.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Veracyte from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $51.00 target price on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Tuesday. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $37.00 price target (down from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Veracyte currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.23, for a total value of $302,610.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 114,037 shares in the company, valued at $4,929,819.51. The trade was a 5.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.30, for a total transaction of $403,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,497 shares in the company, valued at $745,429.10. This represents a 35.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 19,533 shares of company stock worth $815,584. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VCYT. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Veracyte by 49.7% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 714 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in Veracyte in the fourth quarter worth approximately $64,000. US Bancorp DE grew its position in Veracyte by 57.4% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,774 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in Veracyte by 34.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,909 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in Veracyte by 13.7% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,677 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares in the last quarter.

Veracyte Stock Up 6.2 %

The company has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a P/E ratio of -236.87 and a beta of 1.71. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.63.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The biotechnology company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.07. Veracyte had a negative net margin of 2.18% and a positive return on equity of 3.02%. The business had revenue of $118.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $110.73 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.39) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current 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.