Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Receives $29.00 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the five analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $29.00.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Veracyte from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Veracyte from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 26th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on Veracyte from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd.

Veracyte Trading Up 2.1 %

VCYT stock opened at $19.85 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $22.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.95. Veracyte has a 12-month low of $18.61 and a 12-month high of $30.52. The company has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a PE ratio of -19.27 and a beta of 1.62.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.03. Veracyte had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 20.61%. The firm had revenue of $98.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $95.49 million. Equities analysts forecast that Veracyte will post -0.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Veracyte

In other news, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.65, for a total transaction of $216,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 33,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $717,156.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veracyte

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VCYT. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Veracyte during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 96.2% during the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,862 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 913 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 533.0% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,146 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,807 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Veracyte during the 3rd quarter worth $84,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 16.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 8,573 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $191,000 after acquiring an additional 1,239 shares in the last quarter.

Veracyte Company Profile

Veracyte, Inc operates as a diagnostics company in the United States and internationally. The company offers Afirma Genomic Sequencing Classifier for cancerous thyroid nodules; Decipher Prostate Biopsy and Radical Prostatectomy for prostate cancer diagnosis; Prosigna Breast Cancer Assay for breast cancer diagnosis; Percepta Nasal Swab Test for lung cancer diagnosis; and Envisia Genomic Classifier for diagnosing interstitial lung disease, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.