Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Insider Sells $699,728.25 in Stock

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) insider John Leite sold 13,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.07, for a total transaction of $699,728.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 132,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,624,511.35. This represents a 9.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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.

Veracyte Stock Down 2.4%

Shares of VCYT stock opened at $48.73 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.08. The firm has a market cap of $3.89 billion, a PE ratio of 44.71 and a beta of 1.98. Veracyte, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.61 and a 12 month high of $50.71.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $139.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $130.36 million. Veracyte had a net margin of 16.25% and a return on equity of 9.07%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.31 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Veracyte News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Veracyte this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Veracyte has stayed sharply higher since its latest earnings report, suggesting investors are still encouraged by the company’s recent beat on both earnings and revenue and its improved growth outlook. Why Is Veracyte (VCYT) Up 18.2% Since Last Earnings Report?
• Positive Sentiment: The company also highlighted ASCO findings from its OPTIMA and ENZAMET Phase III trials in breast and prostate cancer, which could support Veracyte’s precision-diagnostics growth story. Veracyte, Inc. (VCYT) Discusses ASCO Findings From OPTIMA and ENZAMET Phase III Trials in Breast and Prostate Cancer – Slideshow

Institutional Trading of Veracyte

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Veracyte by 14.7% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,448,897 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $46,669,000 after acquiring an additional 185,929 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in Veracyte by 24.4% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 93,029 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,996,000 after acquiring an additional 18,261 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Veracyte by 66.4% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Veracyte by 6,844.5% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 69,167 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,228,000 after acquiring an additional 68,171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in Veracyte by 25.0% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 17,113 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $551,000 after acquiring an additional 3,422 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Veracyte from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $37.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Veracyte presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.57.

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.