Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Stock Price Up 7.1% – Still a Buy?

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) shares shot up 7.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $41.04 and last traded at $41.1970. 284,412 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 902,943 shares. The stock had previously closed at $38.48.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on VCYT. Zacks Research lowered shares of Veracyte from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $37.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Veracyte in a research report on Monday, April 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Veracyte from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.83.

Veracyte Trading Up 0.5%

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.25 and a beta of 1.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $34.17 and a 200-day moving average of $38.46.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $139.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $130.36 million. Veracyte had a return on equity of 9.07% and a net margin of 16.25%.The firm’s revenue was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.31 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veracyte

In related news, SVP Annie Mcguire sold 10,204 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.02, for a total transaction of $398,160.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 143,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,607,486.16. This trade represents a 6.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Marc Stapley sold 45,523 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.97, for a total transaction of $1,637,462.31. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 357,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,861,217.38. This represents a 11.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 85,986 shares of company stock worth $3,120,257 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veracyte

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Veracyte by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 18,100 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $762,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in Veracyte by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 23,158 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $795,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 44,264 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,862,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 71,095 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,922,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 7,894 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $332,000 after purchasing an additional 576 shares in the last quarter.

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.