Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eight analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $45.1667.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim lifted their price objective 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. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Veracyte from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $37.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 27th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Monday, January 12th.

Veracyte Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of Veracyte stock opened at $32.94 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.35. The stock has a market cap of $2.62 billion, a PE ratio of 39.69 and a beta of 1.91. Veracyte has a 12 month low of $22.61 and a 12 month high of $50.71.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $140.64 million for 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 company’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.06 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Veracyte will post 0.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Veracyte news, SVP Annie Mcguire sold 6,658 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was 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 $3,366,798.30. This represents a 6.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Stapley sold 45,523 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.97, for a total value of $1,637,462.31. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 357,554 shares in the company, valued at $12,861,217.38. This trade represents a 11.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 75,782 shares of company stock valued at $2,722,097 over the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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