Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Given New $40.00 Price Target at Canaccord Genuity Group

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) had its price objective cut by Canaccord Genuity Group from $43.00 to $40.00 in a report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $37.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Monday, April 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective on the stock. Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of Veracyte from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a report on Friday, March 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.83.

Veracyte Stock Down 1.0%

NASDAQ VCYT opened at $33.45 on Monday. Veracyte has a 52 week low of $22.61 and a 52 week high of $50.71. The company has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.30 and a beta of 1.96. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $33.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.26.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $140.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $135.79 million. Veracyte had a return on equity of 8.05% and a net margin of 12.83%.The firm’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.06 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Veracyte will post 1.2 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Veracyte news, CEO Marc Stapley sold 45,523 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.97, for a total value of $1,637,462.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 357,554 shares in the company, valued at $12,861,217.38. This represents a 11.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 18,341 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.14, for a total transaction of $662,843.74. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 131,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,741,423.44. The trade was a 12.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 75,782 shares of company stock valued at $2,722,097. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veracyte

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in Veracyte during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 289.9% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 893 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Veracyte during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Veracyte during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Veracyte by 159.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 679 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.