Veracyte, Inc. (VCYT) – What Are Analysts Saying About This Stock?

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $55.78.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research downgraded Veracyte from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $47.00 to $44.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Veracyte from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 10th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th.

Veracyte Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:VCYT opened at $44.39 on Friday. Veracyte has a 12-month low of $29.45 and a 12-month high of $60.91. The stock has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a PE ratio of 31.48 and a beta of 1.95. The business has a 50 day moving average of $43.52 and a 200-day moving average of $45.08.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last announced 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 company had revenue of $150.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.59 million. Veracyte had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 20.37%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.44 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Veracyte will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Phillip Febbo sold 13,110 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.05, for a total value of $564,385.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 133,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,727,716.40. The trade was a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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, Director Jens Holstein sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.95, for a total value of $204,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 27,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,124,937.45. This trade represents a 15.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 30,895 shares of company stock valued at $1,307,448 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Veracyte

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Veracyte in the second quarter worth $792,058,000. Congress Asset Management Co. bought a new stake in Veracyte during the third quarter worth about $89,971,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Veracyte during the second quarter worth about $84,078,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Veracyte during the second quarter worth about $64,737,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Veracyte during the second quarter worth about $50,398,000.

Veracyte Company Profile

Veracyte, Inc is a diagnostic company that develops and commercializes genomic tests designed to help physicians diagnose cancer, assess disease risk and guide treatment decisions. Its tests analyze genetic information from patient samples and are intended to provide more precise answers than traditional diagnostic methods alone.

The company’s portfolio includes Afirma genomic tests for thyroid nodules, Decipher tests for prostate cancer, Percepta tests for lung cancer and Envisio tests that support the evaluation of certain lung nodules.