Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Receives $46.14 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the nine brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $46.1429.

VCYT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Veracyte from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Veracyte from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Zacks Research lowered shares of Veracyte from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased 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, November 5th.

Veracyte Price Performance

VCYT stock opened at $41.00 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $43.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 107.90 and a beta of 1.88. Veracyte has a 52-week low of $22.61 and a 52-week high of $50.71.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The biotechnology company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $131.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $124.62 million. Veracyte had a return on equity of 7.23% and a net margin of 6.12%.Veracyte’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 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Veracyte will post 0.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Veracyte

In other news, Director Karin Eastham sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.45, for a total value of $909,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 13,554 shares in the company, valued at $616,029.30. This trade represents a 59.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Evan/ Fa Jones sold 43,196 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.06, for a total value of $1,946,411.76. Following the transaction, the director owned 30,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,372,888.08. The trade was a 58.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 134,635 shares of company stock worth $5,981,961. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veracyte

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in Veracyte in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Veracyte by 289.9% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 893 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the 3rd quarter valued at about $56,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Veracyte by 146.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,454 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 864 shares during the last quarter.

Veracyte Company Profile

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.