Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $42.60.

Several brokerages recently commented on VCYT. Craig Hallum initiated coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com cut Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim lowered their price target on Veracyte from $45.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Veracyte in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veracyte

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Veracyte by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,211,612 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $325,180,000 after buying an additional 463,098 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Veracyte by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 6,599,264 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $261,331,000 after acquiring an additional 1,576,432 shares during the period. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Veracyte by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 3,080,027 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $121,969,000 after acquiring an additional 97,824 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 1,194,392 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $47,298,000 after purchasing an additional 8,797 shares during the period. Finally, Driehaus Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 226.8% in the fourth quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 1,183,766 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $46,877,000 after purchasing an additional 821,554 shares during the last quarter.

Veracyte Trading Up 2.2 %

VCYT opened at $30.35 on Friday. Veracyte has a 12 month low of $19.73 and a 12 month high of $47.32. The company has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a PE ratio of -202.33 and a beta of 2.14. The company has a 50 day moving average of $31.42 and a 200 day moving average of $37.22.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The biotechnology company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the business earned ($0.39) earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Veracyte will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.