Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Given “Buy” Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reiterated their buy rating on shares of Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) in a research note released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $48.00 target price on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on VCYT. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 27th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Veracyte from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective 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. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their target price on Veracyte from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Veracyte has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.20.

Veracyte Stock Up 0.6%

VCYT opened at $32.40 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $35.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.31. The company has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.04 and a beta of 1.91. Veracyte has a 52 week low of $22.61 and a 52 week 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.12. The business 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 for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.06 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Veracyte will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Veracyte news, insider John Leite sold 5,260 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 107,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,785,740.20. The trade was a 4.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 18,341 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.14, for a total value of $662,843.74. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 131,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,741,423.44. The trade was a 12.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 75,782 shares of company stock worth $2,722,097. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VCYT. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in 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 last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 1.8% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 23,158 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $795,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in shares of Veracyte by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 44,264 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,862,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake 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 worth $1,922,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its position in Veracyte by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 7,894 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $332,000 after purchasing 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.