OncoCyte (NASDAQ:OCX) Trading Down 3.1% - Here's Why

OncoCyte Co. (NASDAQ:OCX - Get Free Report) was down 3.1% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $3.10 and last traded at $3.12. Approximately 19,472 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 65% from the average daily volume of 56,388 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.22.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

OCX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Lake Street Capital began coverage on shares of OncoCyte in a research report on Friday, March 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $5.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $4.25 price objective on shares of OncoCyte in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on OncoCyte in a research report on Sunday, April 6th. They issued a "sell" rating on the stock. Finally, Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $4.00 price target on shares of OncoCyte in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th.

OncoCyte Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $84.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.68 and a beta of 0.97. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $3.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $2.71.

OncoCyte (NASDAQ:OCX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 24th. The company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.40) by $0.88. OncoCyte had a negative return on equity of 269.32% and a negative net margin of 6,122.29%. The company had revenue of $1.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $0.16 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that OncoCyte Co. will post -2.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Patrick W. Smith acquired 1,077,600 shares of OncoCyte stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $2.05 per share, for a total transaction of $2,209,080.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 2,872,671 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,888,975.55. The trade was a 60.03 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrea S. James bought 97,561 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $2.05 per share, for a total transaction of $200,000.05. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 151,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $310,023.55. This represents a 181.78 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 1,175,186 shares of company stock worth $2,409,131 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.58% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of OncoCyte

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ground Swell Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of OncoCyte during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Two Sigma Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of OncoCyte during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of OncoCyte by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 49,377 shares of the company's stock worth $117,000 after purchasing an additional 6,481 shares during the last quarter. Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in OncoCyte during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $126,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in OncoCyte by 12.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,980 shares of the company's stock worth $296,000 after buying an additional 11,289 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 55.35% of the company's stock.

About OncoCyte

OncoCyte Corporation, a precision diagnostics company, focuses on development and commercialization of proprietary tests in the United States and internationally. The company is developing DetermaIO, a gene expression test that assesses the tumor microenvironment to predict response to immunotherapies; DetermaCNI, a blood-based monitoring tool for monitoring therapeutic efficacy in cancer patients; and VitaGraft, a blood-based solid organ transplantation monitoring test.