Guggenheim Has Lowered Expectations for Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Stock Price

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) had its price objective cut by equities researchers at Guggenheim from $50.00 to $45.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Guggenheim’s price target indicates a potential upside of 39.71% from the company’s previous close.

VCYT has been the subject of several other research reports. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Veracyte in a report on Monday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $37.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Veracyte from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Friday. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Veracyte from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Veracyte currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.20.

Veracyte Trading Up 5.8%

NASDAQ VCYT opened at $32.21 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.81 and a beta of 1.91. Veracyte has a 12-month low of $22.61 and a 12-month high of $50.71.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.12. Veracyte had a return on equity of 8.05% and a net margin of 12.83%.The firm had revenue of $140.64 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $135.79 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.06 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Veracyte will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Veracyte

In other news, insider John Leite sold 5,260 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.19, for a total value of $185,099.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 107,580 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,740.20. This trade represents a 4.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Annie Mcguire sold 6,658 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.55, for a total value of $236,691.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 94,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,366,798.30. This represents a 6.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 75,782 shares of company stock valued at $2,722,097 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Veracyte

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in Veracyte during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in Veracyte by 289.9% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 893 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in Veracyte during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Veracyte during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Veracyte by 159.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 679 shares during the last quarter.

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.