Needham & Company LLC Raises Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Price Target to $48.00

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) had its price target raised by equities researchers at Needham & Company LLC from $44.00 to $48.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 31.18% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Veracyte in a report on Monday, January 12th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.71.

Veracyte Stock Performance

Veracyte stock opened at $36.59 on Thursday. Veracyte has a fifty-two week low of $22.61 and a fifty-two week high of $50.71. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.84. The stock has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of 44.08 and a beta of 1.91.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.12. Veracyte had a net margin of 12.83% and a return on equity of 8.19%. The firm had revenue of $140.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $135.79 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.06 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Veracyte will post 0.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veracyte

In other Veracyte news, Director Karin Eastham sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.45, for a total value of $909,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 13,554 shares in the company, valued at $616,029.30. This represents a 59.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Annie Mcguire sold 10,739 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total value of $463,173.07. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 67,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,922,488.80. The trade was a 13.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 54,385 shares of company stock valued at $2,483,179 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veracyte

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Veracyte in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Veracyte during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in Veracyte by 289.9% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 893 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in Veracyte in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Veracyte during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000.

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.