Veracyte’s (VCYT) Buy Rating Reiterated at Guggenheim

Guggenheim reiterated their buy rating on shares of Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) in a research note published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $45.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Veracyte in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Veracyte from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Veracyte from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.00.

Veracyte Stock Performance

Shares of VCYT opened at $33.84 on Tuesday. Veracyte has a fifty-two week low of $18.61 and a fifty-two week high of $47.32. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.61. The company has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -225.60 and a beta of 1.71.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $118.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $110.73 million. Veracyte had a positive return on equity of 3.02% and a negative net margin of 2.18%. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.39) EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Veracyte will post 0.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veracyte

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in Veracyte during the fourth quarter worth about $64,000. Palisades Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Veracyte during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,487,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Veracyte by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 174,463 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,909,000 after purchasing an additional 30,059 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Veracyte in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $364,000. Finally, State of Wyoming grew its holdings in Veracyte by 237.5% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 9,682 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $383,000 after buying an additional 6,813 shares during the last quarter.

About Veracyte

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.