Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Sets New 12-Month Low on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low on Monday after The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on the stock from $32.00 to $28.00. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Veracyte traded as low as $19.40 and last traded at $19.46, with a volume of 313919 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $20.23.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Veracyte from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Veracyte from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $29.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Veracyte news, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.65, for a total value of $216,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 33,125 shares in the company, valued at $717,156.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veracyte

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Veracyte during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Veracyte during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Veracyte during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Veracyte by 96.2% during the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,862 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 913 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Veracyte by 533.0% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,146 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 1,807 shares during the last quarter.

Veracyte Stock Down 4.3 %

The company has a market cap of $1.45 billion, a PE ratio of -18.81 and a beta of 1.62. The company has a 50-day moving average of $22.73 and a 200-day moving average of $24.06.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $98.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $95.49 million. Veracyte had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 20.61%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Veracyte, Inc. will post -0.29 EPS for the current year.

Veracyte Company Profile

Veracyte, Inc operates as a diagnostics company in the United States and internationally. The company offers Afirma Genomic Sequencing Classifier for cancerous thyroid nodules; Decipher Prostate Biopsy and Radical Prostatectomy for prostate cancer diagnosis; Prosigna Breast Cancer Assay for breast cancer diagnosis; Percepta Nasal Swab Test for lung cancer diagnosis; and Envisia Genomic Classifier for diagnosing interstitial lung disease, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.