Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Price Target Cut to $45.00 by Analysts at Guggenheim

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) had its price objective trimmed by Guggenheim from $50.00 to $45.00 in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on VCYT. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Veracyte from $48.00 to $37.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a report on Friday. Zacks Research lowered shares of Veracyte from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Three equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.20.

Veracyte Trading Up 1.4%

NASDAQ:VCYT opened at $30.44 on Monday. Veracyte has a 12-month low of $22.61 and a 12-month high of $50.71. The firm has a market cap of $2.42 billion, a PE ratio of 36.67 and a beta of 1.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $35.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.34.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Veracyte

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Veracyte during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in Veracyte by 289.9% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 893 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in Veracyte in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Veracyte in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Veracyte by 159.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying 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.