Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the five brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $27.50.

VCYT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on shares of Veracyte from $33.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Veracyte from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 15th.

Veracyte Stock Up 1.1 %

Veracyte stock opened at $21.51 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $21.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.86. Veracyte has a twelve month low of $18.61 and a twelve month high of $30.52. The company has a market cap of $1.64 billion, a PE ratio of -22.88 and a beta of 1.65.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.19) by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $96.84 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.35 million. Veracyte had a negative net margin of 18.16% and a negative return on equity of 1.42%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.11) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Veracyte will post -0.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Veracyte

In related news, Director Karin Eastham sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.97, for a total transaction of $52,425.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 33,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $694,631.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Veracyte news, Director Karin Eastham sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.97, for a total value of $52,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 33,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $694,631.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Muna Bhanji sold 1,539 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.00, for a total transaction of $32,319.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $566,475. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,909 shares of company stock valued at $163,382 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. ARK Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 7,655,603 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $210,606,000 after buying an additional 62,011 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Veracyte by 3.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,384,871 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $163,649,000 after acquiring an additional 266,660 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Veracyte by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,372,703 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $92,787,000 after acquiring an additional 161,073 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Veracyte by 7.8% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 3,347,436 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $74,179,000 after acquiring an additional 242,760 shares during the period. Finally, Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. increased its stake in shares of Veracyte by 7.8% in the first quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 3,347,436 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $74,012,000 after acquiring an additional 242,760 shares during the period.

About Veracyte

Veracyte, Inc operates as a diagnostics company in the United States and internationally. The company offers Afirma Genomic Sequencing Classifier for cancerous thyroid nodules; Decipher Prostate Biopsy and Radical Prostatectomy for prostate cancer diagnosis; Prosigna Breast Cancer Assay for breast cancer diagnosis; Percepta Nasal Swab Test for lung cancer diagnosis; and Envisia Genomic Classifier for diagnosing interstitial lung disease, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.