Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) CFO Sells $177,088.53 in Stock

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 3,561 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.73, for a total transaction of $177,088.53. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 173,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,617,214.40. This trade represents a 2.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Veracyte Trading Up 2.6%

VCYT traded up $1.25 on Thursday, hitting $49.94. 1,644,973 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,133,651. The firm has a market cap of $3.98 billion, a PE ratio of 45.82 and a beta of 1.98. Veracyte, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.61 and a twelve month high of $50.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $37.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.01.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $139.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $130.36 million. Veracyte had a net margin of 16.25% and a return on equity of 9.07%. Veracyte’s quarterly revenue was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.31 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.28 EPS for the current year.

Veracyte News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Veracyte this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wolfe Research upgraded Veracyte to “strong-buy,” a fresh bullish signal that can attract momentum and analyst-following investors.
• Positive Sentiment: Veracyte has remained strong since its last earnings report, with the stock up materially over the past month as investors continue to reward its better-than-expected results and growth outlook. Why Is Veracyte (VCYT) Up 18.2% Since Last Earnings Report?
• Positive Sentiment: Recent presentations and ASCO-related updates on OPTIMA and ENZAMET may be supporting confidence in Veracyte’s oncology pipeline and longer-term growth story.
• Neutral Sentiment: Canaccord Genuity reiterated a hold rating, which does not materially change the outlook but suggests some analysts remain cautious. Canaccord Genuity Reaffirms Their Hold Rating on Veracyte (VCYT)
• Neutral Sentiment: Several insiders, including the CEO, CFO, and another executive, sold shares under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans to cover tax withholding tied to equity vesting. While large in dollar value, these sales are typically viewed as routine and not necessarily a sign of deteriorating fundamentals.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on VCYT. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $37.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Monday, April 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Veracyte from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.57.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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