Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $41.13.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Veracyte from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $37.00 price target (down from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Veracyte from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Veracyte from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John Leite sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.25, for a total value of $45,412.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 73,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,192,282.50. This represents a 1.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.23, for a total transaction of $302,610.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 114,037 shares in the company, valued at $4,929,819.51. The trade was a 5.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,038 shares of company stock valued at $605,297 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veracyte

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the 2nd quarter worth about $58,000. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the second quarter valued at about $85,000. Castleview Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the third quarter valued at approximately $87,000. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Veracyte during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $91,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Veracyte by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,677 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 323 shares in the last quarter.

Veracyte Trading Up 3.6 %

Shares of Veracyte stock opened at $41.91 on Monday. Veracyte has a twelve month low of $18.61 and a twelve month high of $46.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a PE ratio of -279.40 and a beta of 1.69. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $39.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.51.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.16. Veracyte had a positive return on equity of 3.02% and a negative net margin of 2.18%. The firm had revenue of $115.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.81 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.03) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 28.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Veracyte will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Veracyte

Veracyte, Inc engages in the research, development and commercialization of diagnostic products. The firm’s portfolio includes Afirma, Percepta, and Envisia. It intends to treat thyroid cancer, improve lung cancer screening, and clarify the diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The company was founded by Bonnie H.