Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) EVP Sells 3,254 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Veracyte EVP Annie McGuire sold 3,254 shares for approximately $140,215 at an average price of $43.09. The transaction occurred under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan to cover tax withholding tied to vested equity awards, leaving her with 131,160 shares.
• Veracyte shares fell 4.8% to $42.53 during Friday trading. The stock has a market capitalization of about $3.42 billion and has traded between $29.45 and $60.91 over the past year.
• The company recently exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.54 in adjusted earnings per share and $150.32 million in revenue, with revenue up 15.5% year over year. Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $54.33.

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) EVP Annie Mcguire sold 3,254 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.09, for a total transaction of $140,214.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 131,160 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,651,684.40. The trade was a 2.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 Stock Down 4.8%

Shares of VCYT traded down $2.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $42.53. The company had a trading volume of 992,031 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,225,232. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $50.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.12. Veracyte, Inc. has a 1-year low of $29.45 and a 1-year high of $60.91. The stock has a market cap of $3.42 billion, a PE ratio of 30.16 and a beta of 1.93.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.59 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.44 earnings per share. Veracyte's revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veracyte

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VCYT. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Veracyte during the 2nd quarter valued at $792,058,000. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in Veracyte by 5,665.2% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,363,282 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $314,986,000 after purchasing an additional 5,270,253 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Veracyte in the 2nd quarter valued at $84,078,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Veracyte in the 4th quarter valued at $58,158,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Veracyte in the second quarter valued at about $64,737,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VCYT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Veracyte from $45.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Veracyte from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Veracyte in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Veracyte from $47.00 to $44.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on Veracyte from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Two 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 given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Veracyte currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $54.33.

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.

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