Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Veracyte from “strong buy” to “buy,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with a $55.78 price target.
• Veracyte reported quarterly EPS of $0.54, beating estimates of $0.41, while revenue reached $150.32 million—up 15.5% year over year and above expectations.
• Company insiders sold 30,895 shares worth approximately $1.31 million during the last quarter, even as several major institutional investors initiated sizable positions in Veracyte.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on VCYT. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating on shares of Veracyte in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Stephens lowered their price objective on Veracyte from $68.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Veracyte from $47.00 to $44.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Zacks Research lowered Veracyte from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Veracyte from $52.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Veracyte presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $55.78.

Veracyte Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VCYT opened at $45.23 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a PE ratio of 32.08 and a beta of 1.95. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $43.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.67. Veracyte has a fifty-two week low of $29.45 and a fifty-two week high of $60.91.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.13. Veracyte had a net margin of 20.37% and a return on equity of 9.26%. The firm had revenue of $150.32 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.59 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.44 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Veracyte will post 1.32 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Veracyte

In related news, Director Jens Holstein sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.95, for a total transaction of $204,750.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 27,471 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,124,937.45. This represents a 15.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider John Leite sold 4,015 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $160,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 124,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,973,160. The trade was a 3.13% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 30,895 shares of company stock valued at $1,307,448. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veracyte

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the second quarter worth approximately $792,058,000. Congress Asset Management Co. purchased a new position in shares of Veracyte during the third quarter valued at approximately $89,971,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Veracyte during the second quarter valued at approximately $84,078,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Veracyte during the second quarter worth $64,737,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in Veracyte during the second quarter worth $50,398,000.

Veracyte Company Profile

Veracyte, Inc is a diagnostic company that develops and commercializes genomic tests designed to help physicians diagnose cancer, assess disease risk and guide treatment decisions. Its tests analyze genetic information from patient samples and are intended to provide more precise answers than traditional diagnostic methods alone.

The company's portfolio includes Afirma genomic tests for thyroid nodules, Decipher tests for prostate cancer, Percepta tests for lung cancer and Envisio tests that support the evaluation of certain lung nodules.

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