Brokerages Set Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Price Target at $55.78

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $55.7778.

A number of research firms have weighed in on VCYT. Zacks Research raised Veracyte from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen raised Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Veracyte in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Veracyte in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on Veracyte from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 3rd.

Veracyte Stock Performance

NASDAQ VCYT opened at $39.79 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $47.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.47. Veracyte has a one year low of $29.45 and a one year high of $60.91. The firm has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of 28.22 and a beta of 1.93.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.13. Veracyte had a net margin of 20.37% and a return on equity of 9.26%. The business had revenue of $150.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.59 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.44 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Veracyte will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Veracyte

In other Veracyte news, Director Jens Holstein sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.95, for a total transaction of $204,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 27,471 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,124,937.45. This represents a 15.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Phillip Febbo sold 13,110 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.05, for a total transaction of $564,385.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 133,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,727,716.40. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. Insiders have sold 26,880 shares of company stock worth $1,146,848 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veracyte

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VCYT. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 14.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,448,897 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $46,669,000 after buying an additional 185,929 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,583,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,851,000. Summit Creek Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Veracyte during the second quarter worth $6,986,000. Finally, Rice Hall James & Associates LLC acquired a new position in Veracyte during the second quarter worth $5,614,000.

About Veracyte

Veracyte, Inc is a diagnostics company that develops and commercializes genomic tests designed to help physicians diagnose cancer, assess disease risk and guide treatment decisions. The company combines genomic data with bioinformatics and machine-learning technologies to provide clinically actionable information from patient tissue samples.

Veracyte’s portfolio includes Afirma tests for evaluating thyroid nodules, Decipher tests for assessing the risk and biological characteristics of prostate cancer, and Prosigna for classifying and evaluating recurrence risk in certain breast cancers.