Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $60.97 and last traded at $59.3450, with a volume of 1519 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $60.49.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on VCYT shares. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Veracyte in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Veracyte from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Zacks Research downgraded Veracyte from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Veracyte has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.57.

Veracyte Stock Down 1.6%

The company’s 50-day moving average is $43.76 and its 200 day moving average is $39.79. The company has a market cap of $4.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.61 and a beta of 1.98.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Marc Stapley sold 138,051 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.12, for a total transaction of $6,919,116.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 440,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,077,559.28. The trade was a 23.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.73, for a total value of $177,088.53. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 173,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,617,214.40. The trade was a 2.01% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 206,696 shares of company stock valued at $10,079,058. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VCYT. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Veracyte by 23.3% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 28,712 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $852,000 after purchasing an additional 5,435 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in Veracyte by 12.2% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 195,793 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,805,000 after buying an additional 21,330 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in Veracyte by 94.7% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 216,909 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,431,000 after buying an additional 105,499 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Veracyte by 54.1% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 42,762 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,268,000 after buying an additional 15,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Veracyte by 32.2% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 48,786 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,319,000 after buying an additional 11,889 shares in the last quarter.

Veracyte Company Profile

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.