Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Stock Price Breaks Below 200 Day Moving Average Following Analyst Downgrade

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) crossed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday after Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on the stock from $69.00 to $46.00. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $42.95 and traded as low as $21.91. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the stock. Veracyte shares last traded at $24.00, with a volume of 14,974,870 shares changing hands.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on VCYT. Leerink Partners lowered Veracyte from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Veracyte from $66.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings lowered Veracyte from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on shares of Veracyte from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Veracyte from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.40.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 3,652 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.10, for a total transaction of $157,401.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 166,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,155,677.50. This represents a 2.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through 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 Jens Holstein sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total value of $375,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 27,471 shares in the company, valued at $1,373,550. The trade was a 21.45% 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 62,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,858,904. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Key Veracyte News

Here are the key news stories impacting Veracyte this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter adjusted EPS of $0.51 beat analyst estimates of about $0.41, while revenue rose 15% year over year to $151.8 million, also topping expectations. Veracyte Q3 2026 results
• Positive Sentiment: The company announced a $100 million share repurchase program, which may provide some support for shares. Veracyte Q3 2026 results
• Negative Sentiment: The main pressure is a cut to the company’s outlook and a major shift affecting Afirma, its best-selling test. Investors appear concerned about the implications for future performance, overshadowing the quarterly earnings beat. Analysis of Veracyte’s decline
• Negative Sentiment: Leerink Partners downgraded VCYT to Market Perform from Outperform and cut its price target to $35 from $55. Needham also lowered its target, to $46 from $69, although it maintained a Buy rating. Leerink downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Ademi LLP said it is investigating potential securities-fraud claims against Veracyte. The announcement adds a legal overhang, but an investigation is not a finding of wrongdoing. Shareholder investigation announcement

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veracyte

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Veracyte during the second quarter valued at approximately $792,058,000. Congress Asset Management Co. bought a new stake in Veracyte in the third quarter valued at $89,971,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Veracyte in the second quarter valued at $84,078,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Veracyte during the 2nd quarter valued at $64,737,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Veracyte during the 2nd quarter valued at $50,398,000.

Veracyte Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.93 billion, a PE ratio of 15.48 and a beta of 1.98. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $44.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.95.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The biotechnology company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $151.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $147.13 million. Veracyte had a net margin of 21.80% and a return on equity of 9.13%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.51 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Veracyte Company Profile

Veracyte, Inc is a diagnostics company that develops genomic tests to help physicians diagnose cancer, assess disease risk and guide treatment decisions. Its tests are designed to provide additional molecular information from patient samples, often helping reduce uncertainty and support more personalized care.

The company’s portfolio includes Afirma tests for thyroid nodules, Decipher tests for prostate cancer, Percepta tests for lung cancer and Envisio tests for breast cancer. Veracyte also develops and commercializes additional genomic assays intended for use across various cancer types and clinical settings.

Founded in 2008 and headquartered in South San Francisco, California, Veracyte primarily serves the U.S.