Karin Eastham Sells 3,729 Shares of Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Stock

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Director Karin Eastham sold 3,729 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.89, for a total transaction of $197,226.81. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,097 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $798,480.33. This trade represents a 19.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Veracyte Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VCYT opened at $53.79 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.35 and a beta of 1.98. Veracyte, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.61 and a 1-year high of $54.72. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $42.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.51.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Veracyte in a report on Monday, April 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research cut Veracyte from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Veracyte from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Veracyte from $48.00 to $37.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.57.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veracyte

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VCYT. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 289.9% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 893 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in Veracyte during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Veracyte during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Veracyte by 159.8% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in Veracyte in the third quarter valued at approximately $56,000.

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.