Guggenheim Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Stock

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) had its target price boosted by research analysts at Guggenheim from $40.00 to $45.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Guggenheim’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 7.94% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley set a $28.00 price target on Veracyte and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Veracyte from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Veracyte from $42.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.90.

Veracyte Price Performance

NASDAQ VCYT opened at $41.69 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 126.34 and a beta of 2.16. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $34.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.02. Veracyte has a one year low of $22.61 and a one year high of $47.32.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The biotechnology company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $131.87 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $124.62 million. Veracyte had a return on equity of 6.07% and a net margin of 5.50%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.33 EPS. Veracyte has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts expect that Veracyte will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Phillip G. Febbo sold 8,349 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.02, for a total transaction of $300,730.98. Following the transaction, the insider owned 92,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,329,724.82. The trade was a 8.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Marc Stapley sold 7,667 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.41, for a total value of $233,153.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 334,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,162,565.85. The trade was a 2.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 18,299 shares of company stock worth $610,799 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VCYT. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Veracyte during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Veracyte during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 893 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Veracyte in the first quarter worth $48,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its stake in Veracyte by 23,936.4% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,644 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 2,633 shares during the period.

About Veracyte

Veracyte, Inc engages in the research, development and commercialization of diagnostic products. The firm’s portfolio includes Afirma, Percepta, and Envisia. It intends to treat thyroid cancer, improve lung cancer screening, and clarify the diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The company was founded by Bonnie H.