Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Earns Outperform Rating from Analysts at Wolfe Research

Analysts at Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) in a research report issued on Friday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock. Wolfe Research’s price objective points to a potential upside of 34.99% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on VCYT. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Veracyte from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on Veracyte from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Veracyte from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group increased their target price on Veracyte from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Veracyte from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.00.

Veracyte Price Performance

Veracyte stock opened at $37.04 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $33.77 and its 200 day moving average is $27.43. Veracyte has a one year low of $18.61 and a one year high of $41.43. The firm has a market cap of $2.87 billion, a P/E ratio of -246.93 and a beta of 1.67.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Evan/ Fa Jones sold 5,173 shares of Veracyte 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 sale, the director now owns 34,343 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,209,903.89. The trade was a 13.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 value of $163,164.62. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 76,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,268,461.72. The trade was a 6.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veracyte

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in shares of Veracyte by 13,351.4% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 28,517 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $971,000 after purchasing an additional 28,305 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Veracyte by 87.0% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 5,021 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $171,000 after acquiring an additional 2,336 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of Veracyte during the third quarter worth about $574,000. Bellevue Group AG bought a new position in shares of Veracyte in the third quarter worth approximately $123,000. Finally, PDT Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Veracyte in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,382,000.

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.