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

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nine research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $41.13.

VCYT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Veracyte in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $37.00 price target (down from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th.

Veracyte Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VCYT opened at $43.51 on Thursday. Veracyte has a 52-week low of $18.61 and a 52-week high of $46.00. The business has a fifty day moving average of $37.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.23. The stock has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a PE ratio of -290.07 and a beta of 1.69.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Veracyte

In other news, Director Evan/ Fa Jones sold 5,173 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.23, for a total value of $182,244.79. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,343 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,209,903.89. This represents a 13.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Jonathan Wygant sold 5,032 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.89, for a total value of $215,822.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 42,313 shares in the company, valued at $1,814,804.57. The trade was a 10.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 19,211 shares of company stock valued at $787,542. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veracyte

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Eventide Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Veracyte by 20.2% during the 3rd quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 677,883 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $23,075,000 after acquiring an additional 113,883 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in Veracyte during the third quarter worth about $574,000. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Veracyte during the third quarter worth about $723,000. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new position in Veracyte in the 3rd quarter valued at about $431,000. Finally, Zacks Investment Management bought a new position in Veracyte in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,123,000.

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.