Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Sunday.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Needham & Company LLC raised 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, June 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Veracyte from $37.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Veracyte in a research note on Monday, April 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Veracyte from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.86.

Veracyte Stock Down 3.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:VCYT traded down $2.33 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $56.97. 757,209 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,347,420. Veracyte has a 12 month low of $22.61 and a 12 month high of $60.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.27 and a beta of 1.93. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $48.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.86.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.18. Veracyte had a return on equity of 9.07% and a net margin of 16.25%.The business had revenue of $139.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $130.36 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.31 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Veracyte will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veracyte

In other Veracyte news, CEO Marc Stapley sold 138,051 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.12, for a total transaction of $6,919,116.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 440,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,077,559.28. The trade was a 23.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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. Also, Director Karin Eastham sold 3,729 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.89, for a total value of $197,226.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 15,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $798,480.33. The trade was a 19.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 206,696 shares of company stock valued at $10,079,058. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veracyte

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VCYT. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Veracyte by 21.2% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,121 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its position in Veracyte by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 18,100 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $762,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in Veracyte by 1.3% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in Veracyte by 0.8% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 71,095 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,922,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares during the period. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in Veracyte by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 7,894 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $332,000 after buying an additional 576 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.