Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Earns Buy Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by stock analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $48.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective points to a potential upside of 7.89% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Veracyte from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Veracyte in a report on Monday, April 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of Veracyte from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.83.

Veracyte Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of VCYT stock opened at $44.49 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.82 and a beta of 1.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $35.66 and its 200 day moving average is $38.72. Veracyte has a 12 month low of $22.61 and a 12 month high of $50.71.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.18. Veracyte had a net margin of 16.25% and a return on equity of 9.07%. The company had revenue of $139.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $130.36 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.31 earnings per share. Veracyte’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Veracyte will post 1.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veracyte

In other Veracyte news, CAO Jonathan Wygant sold 24,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.40, for a total transaction of $1,089,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 45,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,062,703.60. The trade was a 34.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Annie Mcguire sold 10,204 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.02, for a total transaction of $398,160.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 143,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,607,486.16. The trade was a 6.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 119,986 shares of company stock worth $4,649,957. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Veracyte

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VCYT. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the 4th quarter worth about $58,158,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in Veracyte during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,064,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Veracyte by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 7,370,467 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $253,028,000 after acquiring an additional 1,048,692 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Veracyte by 64.9% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,117,046 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $68,190,000 after acquiring an additional 833,543 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in Veracyte by 770.6% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 897,387 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $24,256,000 after buying an additional 794,307 shares in the last quarter.

About Veracyte

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.