Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Shares Gap Up After Analyst Upgrade

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on the stock from $44.00 to $48.00. The stock had previously closed at $35.72, but opened at $38.51. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the stock. Veracyte shares last traded at $37.5880, with a volume of 163,431 shares trading hands.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on VCYT. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Veracyte in a report on Monday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Veracyte from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Veracyte currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.71.

Insider Activity at Veracyte

In related news, insider John Leite sold 1,278 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.51, for a total value of $60,717.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 82,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,901,188.63. This represents a 1.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Annie Mcguire sold 10,739 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total transaction of $463,173.07. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 67,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,922,488.80. This trade represents a 13.68% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 54,385 shares of company stock worth $2,483,179 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Veracyte

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Veracyte by 23.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 28,712 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $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 grew its holdings in Veracyte by 94.7% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 216,909 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,431,000 after buying an additional 105,499 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Veracyte by 54.1% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 42,762 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,268,000 after acquiring an additional 15,017 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 1,279.9% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 8,031 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $217,000 after acquiring an additional 7,449 shares during the period.

Veracyte Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $39.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.84. The stock has a market cap of $2.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.08 and a beta of 1.91.

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

About Veracyte

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.