Zacks Research Upgrades Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) to Strong-Buy

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on VCYT. Weiss Ratings raised Veracyte from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Veracyte in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $55.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on Veracyte from $57.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on Veracyte from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.33.

Veracyte Stock Performance

Shares of VCYT opened at $44.68 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.52. Veracyte has a 52 week low of $28.25 and a 52 week high of $60.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.69 and a beta of 1.95.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $150.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.59 million. Veracyte had a net margin of 20.37% and a return on equity of 9.26%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.44 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Veracyte will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Annie Mcguire sold 3,176 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.76, for a total value of $158,037.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 137,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,829,062.40. The trade was a 2.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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, insider John Leite sold 13,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.07, for a total value of $699,728.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 132,305 shares in the company, valued at $6,624,511.35. The trade was a 9.55% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders sold 196,492 shares of company stock valued at $9,680,897. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veracyte

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 289.9% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 893 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Veracyte in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Veracyte by 159.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in Veracyte during the 2nd quarter worth about $50,000.

About Veracyte

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.