John Leite Sells 4,015 Shares of Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Stock

Key Points

• Veracyte insider John Leite sold 4,015 shares at an average price of $40, generating $160,600 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. He retained 124,329 shares after the transaction.
• Veracyte shares rose 4.4% to $43.36, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $0.54 and revenue of $150.32 million, exceeding analyst expectations and marking 15.5% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $55.78, implying potential upside from the reported share price.

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) insider John Leite sold 4,015 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $160,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 124,329 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,973,160. This trade represents a 3.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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.

Veracyte Trading Up 4.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:VCYT traded up $1.84 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $43.36. 1,472,465 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,117,563. The company has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a PE ratio of 30.75 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $46.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.56. Veracyte, Inc. has a 12-month low of $29.45 and a 12-month high of $60.91.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on VCYT. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Veracyte from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Stephens cut their target price on shares of Veracyte from $68.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Veracyte from $52.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $45.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six 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, Veracyte presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $55.78.

Institutional Trading of Veracyte

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in VCYT. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Veracyte in the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Veracyte during the 2nd quarter worth about $50,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Veracyte during the second quarter worth about $62,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 21.2% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,121 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new position in shares of Veracyte in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,000.

About Veracyte

Veracyte, Inc is a diagnostics company that develops and commercializes genomic tests designed to help physicians diagnose cancer, assess disease risk and guide treatment decisions. The company combines genomic data with bioinformatics and machine-learning technologies to provide clinically actionable information from patient tissue samples.

Veracyte's portfolio includes Afirma tests for evaluating thyroid nodules, Decipher tests for assessing the risk and biological characteristics of prostate cancer, and Prosigna for classifying and evaluating recurrence risk in certain breast cancers.

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