Insider Selling: Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) EVP Sells 3,176 Shares of Stock

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) EVP Annie Mcguire sold 3,176 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.76, for a total transaction of $158,037.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 137,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,829,062.40. This represents a 2.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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.

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

• On Wednesday, May 6th, Annie Mcguire sold 10,204 shares of Veracyte stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.02, for a total transaction of $398,160.08.

Veracyte Trading Up 2.6%

NASDAQ VCYT traded up $1.25 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $49.94. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,644,973 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,133,651. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.01. Veracyte, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.61 and a twelve month high of $50.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.82 and a beta of 1.98.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $130.36 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.31 EPS. Veracyte’s revenue was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.28 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VCYT has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $37.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Veracyte from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Veracyte in a report on Monday, April 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Veracyte in a report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. One investment 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Veracyte has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.57.

Key Stories Impacting Veracyte

Here are the key news stories impacting Veracyte this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wolfe Research upgraded Veracyte to “strong-buy,” a fresh bullish signal that can attract momentum and analyst-following investors.
• Positive Sentiment: Veracyte has remained strong since its last earnings report, with the stock up materially over the past month as investors continue to reward its better-than-expected results and growth outlook. Why Is Veracyte (VCYT) Up 18.2% Since Last Earnings Report?
• Positive Sentiment: Recent presentations and ASCO-related updates on OPTIMA and ENZAMET may be supporting confidence in Veracyte’s oncology pipeline and longer-term growth story.
• Neutral Sentiment: Canaccord Genuity reiterated a hold rating, which does not materially change the outlook but suggests some analysts remain cautious. Canaccord Genuity Reaffirms Their Hold Rating on Veracyte (VCYT)
• Neutral Sentiment: Several insiders, including the CEO, CFO, and another executive, sold shares under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans to cover tax withholding tied to equity vesting. While large in dollar value, these sales are typically viewed as routine and not necessarily a sign of deteriorating fundamentals.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veracyte

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of VCYT. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 1.8% during the third 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 holdings in shares of Veracyte by 1.3% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in Veracyte by 0.8% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 71,095 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,922,000 after buying an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Veracyte by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 7,894 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $332,000 after buying 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.