Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Coverage Initiated at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) in a report issued on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $50.00 target price on the biotechnology company’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Veracyte from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Veracyte from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of 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 lifted their price target on shares of Veracyte from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.25.

Veracyte Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of Veracyte stock opened at $36.71 on Friday. Veracyte has a 52-week low of $18.61 and a 52-week high of $41.43. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.71. The firm has a market cap of $2.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -242.47 and a beta of 1.67.

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

Insider Activity at Veracyte

In other Veracyte news, Director Evan/ Fa Jones sold 5,173 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.23, for a total value of $182,244.79. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 34,343 shares in the company, valued at $1,209,903.89. This represents a 13.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Leite sold 5,479 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.78, for a total transaction of $163,164.62. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 76,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,268,461.72. This trade represents a 6.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veracyte

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Veracyte by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,677 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 2.1% during the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 16,462 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 21.7% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,778 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 6.9% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 8,198 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $182,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 3.7% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 20,806 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 733 shares during the period.

About Veracyte

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.