Annie Mcguire Sells 3,176 Shares of Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Stock

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) EVP Annie Mcguire sold 3,176 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.76, for a total transaction of $158,037.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 137,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,829,062.40. The trade was a 2.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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.

Annie Mcguire also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, May 6th, Annie Mcguire sold 10,204 shares of Veracyte stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.02, for a total transaction of $398,160.08.

Veracyte Price Performance

Shares of VCYT opened at $48.73 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.71 and a beta of 1.98. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.08. Veracyte, Inc. has a one year low of $22.61 and a one year high of $50.71.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $139.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $130.36 million. Veracyte had a net margin of 16.25% and a return on equity of 9.07%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.31 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on VCYT shares. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Zacks Research cut shares of Veracyte from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Veracyte in a research report on Monday, April 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.57.

Key Stories Impacting Veracyte

Here are the key news stories impacting Veracyte this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Veracyte has stayed sharply higher since its latest earnings report, suggesting investors are still encouraged by the company’s recent beat on both earnings and revenue and its improved growth outlook. Why Is Veracyte (VCYT) Up 18.2% Since Last Earnings Report?
• Positive Sentiment: The company also highlighted ASCO findings from its OPTIMA and ENZAMET Phase III trials in breast and prostate cancer, which could support Veracyte’s precision-diagnostics growth story. Veracyte, Inc. (VCYT) Discusses ASCO Findings From OPTIMA and ENZAMET Phase III Trials in Breast and Prostate Cancer – Slideshow

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veracyte

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Veracyte by 14.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,448,897 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $46,669,000 after buying an additional 185,929 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in Veracyte by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 93,029 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,996,000 after purchasing an additional 18,261 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Veracyte by 66.4% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 573,096 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $18,459,000 after buying an additional 228,720 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 6,844.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 69,167 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,228,000 after acquiring an additional 68,171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in Veracyte by 25.0% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 17,113 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $551,000 after purchasing an additional 3,422 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.