Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Shares Down 4.5% After Insider Selling

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)’s share price traded down 4.5% on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $42.90 and last traded at $42.6380. Approximately 314,886 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 1,092,962 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.67.

Specifically, Director Muna Bhanji sold 1,864 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.97, for a total value of $80,096.08. Following the transaction, the director owned 42,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,835,592.46. The trade was a 4.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VCYT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price target on shares of Veracyte from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Veracyte from $57.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Stephens decreased their price target on shares of Veracyte from $68.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on Veracyte from $45.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.33.

Veracyte Stock Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $51.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $43.13. The company has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.27 and a beta of 1.93.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $150.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.59 million. Veracyte had a net margin of 20.37% and a return on equity of 9.26%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.44 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.32 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veracyte

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 21.2% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,121 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its position in Veracyte by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 18,100 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $762,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in Veracyte by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 71,095 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,922,000 after buying an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in Veracyte by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 7,894 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $332,000 after acquiring an additional 576 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Veracyte by 159.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares in the last quarter.

Veracyte Company Profile

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.