Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) SVP Annie Mcguire Sells 6,658 Shares

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) SVP Annie Mcguire sold 6,658 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.55, for a total value of $236,691.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 94,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,366,798.30. This represents a 6.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Annie Mcguire also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, December 16th, Annie Mcguire sold 10,739 shares of Veracyte stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total value of $463,173.07.

Veracyte Price Performance

NASDAQ VCYT traded down $0.83 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $33.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 964,111 shares, compared to its average volume of 868,062. Veracyte, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.61 and a 12 month high of $50.71. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.00. The company has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.78 and a beta of 1.91.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $140.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $135.79 million. Veracyte had a net margin of 12.83% and a return on equity of 8.05%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.06 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on VCYT shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Veracyte from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Veracyte from $48.00 to $37.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Veracyte from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on Veracyte from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Veracyte currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.14.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VCYT. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 409,601 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $14,062,000 after acquiring an additional 105,721 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Veracyte by 667.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 435,761 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $14,960,000 after purchasing an additional 379,014 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Veracyte by 178.4% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 37,118 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,003,000 after purchasing an additional 23,785 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Veracyte by 16.6% in the third quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 7,370,467 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $253,028,000 after purchasing an additional 1,048,692 shares during the period. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the third quarter worth $1,384,000.

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.