Marc Stapley Sells 138,051 Shares of Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Stock

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) CEO Marc Stapley sold 138,051 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.12, for a total transaction of $6,919,116.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 440,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,077,559.28. The trade was a 23.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Veracyte Price Performance

Shares of VCYT opened at $48.73 on Friday. Veracyte, Inc. has a one year low of $22.61 and a one year high of $50.71. The company has a market cap of $3.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.71 and a beta of 1.98. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.08.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.18. Veracyte had a net margin of 16.25% and a return on equity of 9.07%. The business had revenue of $139.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $130.36 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.31 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Trending Headlines about Veracyte

Here are the key news stories impacting Veracyte this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Veracyte has stayed sharply higher since its latest earnings report, suggesting investors are still encouraged by the company’s recent beat on both earnings and revenue and its improved growth outlook. Why Is Veracyte (VCYT) Up 18.2% Since Last Earnings Report?
• Positive Sentiment: The company also highlighted ASCO findings from its OPTIMA and ENZAMET Phase III trials in breast and prostate cancer, which could support Veracyte’s precision-diagnostics growth story. Veracyte, Inc. (VCYT) Discusses ASCO Findings From OPTIMA and ENZAMET Phase III Trials in Breast and Prostate Cancer – Slideshow

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on VCYT shares. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Veracyte from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.57.

Institutional Trading of Veracyte

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Veracyte by 289.9% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 893 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in Veracyte during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Veracyte during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Veracyte by 159.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Veracyte during the third quarter valued at $56,000.

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.