Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $29.00.

VCYT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Veracyte from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Veracyte from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Veracyte from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Friday, February 23rd.

Veracyte Stock Performance

Shares of VCYT opened at $19.45 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $22.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -18.88 and a beta of 1.62. Veracyte has a 52 week low of $18.61 and a 52 week high of $30.52.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.03. Veracyte had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 20.61%. The firm had revenue of $98.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $95.49 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Veracyte will post -0.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.65, for a total value of $216,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 33,125 shares in the company, valued at $717,156.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Veracyte

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AMI Asset Management Corp raised its position in Veracyte by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. AMI Asset Management Corp now owns 203,723 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,515,000 after purchasing an additional 13,620 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its position in Veracyte by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 3,347,436 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $74,179,000 after purchasing an additional 242,760 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Veracyte by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,325 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $207,000 after purchasing an additional 778 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co raised its position in Veracyte by 54.4% in the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 22,860 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $507,000 after purchasing an additional 8,050 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in Veracyte by 117.7% in the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 20,910 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 11,303 shares during the period.

About Veracyte

Veracyte, Inc operates as a diagnostics company in the United States and internationally. The company offers Afirma Genomic Sequencing Classifier for cancerous thyroid nodules; Decipher Prostate Biopsy and Radical Prostatectomy for prostate cancer diagnosis; Prosigna Breast Cancer Assay for breast cancer diagnosis; Percepta Nasal Swab Test for lung cancer diagnosis; and Envisia Genomic Classifier for diagnosing interstitial lung disease, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.