Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $43.22.

VCYT has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $37.00 price objective (down from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com cut Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Veracyte from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Craig Hallum initiated coverage on Veracyte in a report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 target price for the company.

Insider Transactions at Veracyte

In related news, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.30, for a total transaction of $403,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $745,429.10. This represents a 35.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veracyte

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of Veracyte by 49.7% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 714 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Veracyte by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 22,276 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $882,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in Veracyte by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 23,132 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $916,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 16,630 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $659,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Veracyte by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,677 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter.

Veracyte Trading Down 0.1 %

VCYT stock opened at $31.82 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.61. Veracyte has a 1-year low of $18.61 and a 1-year high of $47.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a PE ratio of -212.13 and a beta of 1.80.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The biotechnology company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $118.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $110.73 million. Veracyte had a negative net margin of 2.18% and a positive return on equity of 3.02%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.39) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Veracyte will post 0.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Veracyte Company Profile

Veracyte, Inc engages in the research, development and commercialization of diagnostic products. The firm’s portfolio includes Afirma, Percepta, and Envisia. It intends to treat thyroid cancer, improve lung cancer screening, and clarify the diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The company was founded by Bonnie H.