Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on the stock from $44.00 to $48.00. The stock had previously closed at $35.72, but opened at $38.51. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the stock. Veracyte shares last traded at $37.5880, with a volume of 163,431 shares.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on VCYT. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Veracyte from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veracyte

In other Veracyte news, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 13,278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.84, for a total transaction of $621,941.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 109,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,128,792.64. This represents a 10.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Annie Mcguire sold 10,739 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total transaction of $463,173.07. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 67,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,922,488.80. This trade represents a 13.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 54,385 shares of company stock valued at $2,483,179. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Veracyte News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Veracyte this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat — Veracyte reported Q4 revenue of about $140.6M (up ~18.5% y/y) and EPS of $0.53, topping consensus; management highlighted improved margins and a big jump in profitability versus year-ago quarter. Veracyte Q4 Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: Profitability & cash improved materially — operating profit, net income and cash from operations rose substantially year-over-year and cash & equivalents increased (QuiverQuant summary), supporting a stronger financial profile. QuiverQuant Financial Snapshot
• Positive Sentiment: 2026 guidance and product cadence — management outlined 2026 revenue growth of 10%–13% and plans to advance MRD efforts and Prosigna launches, giving investors visibility on growth drivers beyond core testing. Veracyte 2026 Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrade/price-target lift — Needham bumped its price target (to $48) and maintains a Buy, adding upside from current levels and likely helping investor sentiment. Benzinga Analyst Note
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings materials & call transcripts available — management commentary and the earnings deck/transcript provide detail on revenue mix and pipeline; useful for modeling but not a surprise after the print. Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling and mixed institutional flows — recent data show substantial insider sell activity and large institutional position changes (some big sellers), which could temper enthusiasm despite the beat. QuiverQuant Insider & Institutional Activity

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veracyte

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VCYT. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Veracyte by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,504,088 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $291,945,000 after purchasing an additional 403,737 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 16.6% in the third quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 7,370,467 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $253,028,000 after buying an additional 1,048,692 shares in the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Veracyte by 17.5% during the third quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 4,465,775 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $153,310,000 after acquiring an additional 665,686 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in Veracyte by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,360,913 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $183,594,000 after acquiring an additional 161,239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Veracyte by 3.2% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,118,166 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $107,042,000 after acquiring an additional 95,664 shares in the last quarter.

Veracyte Stock Up 8.6%

The company has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.74 and a beta of 1.91. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.78.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Veracyte had a net margin of 12.83% and a return on equity of 8.19%. The business had revenue of $140.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $135.79 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.06 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Veracyte Company Profile

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.