Jonathan Wygant Sells 24,000 Shares of Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Stock

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) CAO Jonathan Wygant sold 24,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.40, for a total transaction of $1,089,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 45,434 shares in the company, valued at $2,062,703.60. This represents a 34.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Veracyte Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:VCYT traded up $0.28 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $44.49. The stock had a trading volume of 951,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 927,069. Veracyte, Inc. has a one year low of $22.61 and a one year high of $50.71. The company has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.82 and a beta of 1.89. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.70.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.18. Veracyte had a net margin of 16.25% and a return on equity of 9.07%. The business had revenue of $139.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $130.36 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.31 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veracyte

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VCYT. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Veracyte in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $58,158,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Veracyte during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,064,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its position 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 buying an additional 1,048,692 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in Veracyte by 64.9% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,117,046 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $68,190,000 after buying an additional 833,543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its position in Veracyte by 770.6% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 897,387 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $24,256,000 after buying an additional 794,307 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VCYT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Monday, April 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $37.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.83.

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.