Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Trading Up 5.8% – What’s Next?

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)’s share price was up 5.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $51.84 and last traded at $51.9950. Approximately 445,766 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 54% from the average daily volume of 964,218 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.15.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on VCYT shares. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research cut shares of Veracyte from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $37.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $47.57.

Veracyte Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $39.77 and its 200-day moving average is $39.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.67 and a beta of 1.98.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.18. Veracyte had a net margin of 16.25% and a return on equity of 9.07%. The business had revenue of $139.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $130.36 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.31 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Annie Mcguire sold 3,176 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.76, for a total value of $158,037.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 137,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,829,062.40. This trade represents a 2.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 3,561 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.73, for a total transaction of $177,088.53. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 173,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,617,214.40. This trade represents a 2.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last three months, insiders sold 202,967 shares of company stock valued at $9,881,831. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VCYT. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Veracyte during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,158,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Veracyte during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,064,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its position in Veracyte by 16.6% during the third quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 7,370,467 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $253,028,000 after buying an additional 1,048,692 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Veracyte by 64.9% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,117,046 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $68,190,000 after buying an additional 833,543 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in Veracyte by 770.6% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 897,387 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $24,256,000 after buying an additional 794,307 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.