Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Veracyte from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Veracyte from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.14.

Veracyte Trading Up 3.9%

Shares of NASDAQ VCYT opened at $32.13 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $38.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.55 billion, a PE ratio of 38.71 and a beta of 1.91. Veracyte has a one year low of $22.61 and a one year high of $50.71.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $140.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $135.79 million. Veracyte had a return on equity of 8.05% and a net margin of 12.83%.The business’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.06 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Veracyte will post 0.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider John Leite sold 5,260 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.19, for a total value of $185,099.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 107,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,740.20. The trade was a 4.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Annie Mcguire sold 6,658 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.55, for a total value of $236,691.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 94,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,366,798.30. This represents a 6.57% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 86,521 shares of company stock valued at $3,185,270. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Veracyte

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Veracyte by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 18,100 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $762,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in Veracyte by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 23,158 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $795,000 after buying an additional 419 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in Veracyte by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 44,264 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,862,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in Veracyte by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 71,095 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,922,000 after acquiring an additional 566 shares during the period. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Veracyte by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 7,894 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $332,000 after acquiring an additional 576 shares during 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.