Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Receives $42.00 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $42.00.

A number of research firms have weighed in on VCYT. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $37.00 price objective (down from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com cut shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Veracyte in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Veracyte from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Veracyte from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Veracyte news, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.30, for a total value of $403,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,497 shares in the company, valued at approximately $745,429.10. The trade was a 35.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jonathan Wygant sold 5,032 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.89, for a total transaction of $215,822.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 42,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,814,804.57. This trade represents a 10.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,565 shares of company stock worth $1,031,406. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Veracyte by 49.7% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 714 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in Veracyte in the 4th quarter worth approximately $64,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Veracyte by 57.4% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,774 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Veracyte by 34.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,909 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the period. Finally, Castleview Partners LLC acquired a new position in Veracyte in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $87,000.

Veracyte Stock Down 4.6 %

VCYT stock opened at $39.18 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -261.20 and a beta of 1.71. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.46. Veracyte has a 52 week low of $18.61 and a 52 week high of $47.32.

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.