Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Veracyte carries a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from 10 brokerages, with five buys, one strong buy, three holds and one sell. The average 12-month price target is $55.88, with recent targets ranging from $45 to $66.
• Veracyte reported quarterly EPS of $0.52, exceeding the $0.34 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 21.5% year over year to $139.07 million, above expectations.
• The stock opened at $55.61, with a market capitalization of $4.44 billion and a 52-week range of $22.92 to $60.91. Insiders sold about $10.1 million of shares during the past quarter, while several institutional investors increased their holdings.

Shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the ten brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $55.8750.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on VCYT shares. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Veracyte in a research report on Monday, April 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Zacks Research cut Veracyte from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Veracyte in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $66.00 target price for the company. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Veracyte from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th.

Insider Activity at Veracyte

In related news, Director Karin Eastham sold 3,729 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.89, for a total transaction of $197,226.81. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 15,097 shares of the company's stock, valued at $798,480.33. This represents a 19.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal 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, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 3,561 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.73, for a total transaction of $177,088.53. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 173,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,617,214.40. This represents a 2.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 206,696 shares of company stock worth $10,079,058. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veracyte

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of Veracyte by 14.0% during the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 32,506 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Veracyte by 21.2% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,121 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Veracyte by 14.7% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,448,897 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $46,669,000 after buying an additional 185,929 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in Veracyte by 24.4% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 93,029 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $2,996,000 after buying an additional 18,261 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Veracyte by 66.4% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 573,096 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $18,459,000 after acquiring an additional 228,720 shares in the last quarter.

Veracyte Stock Down 1.8%

VCYT opened at $55.61 on Tuesday. Veracyte has a twelve month low of $22.92 and a twelve month high of $60.91. The company has a fifty day moving average of $52.91 and a 200-day moving average of $42.01. The stock has a market cap of $4.44 billion, a PE ratio of 51.02 and a beta of 1.93.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $139.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $130.36 million. Veracyte had a net margin of 16.25% and a return on equity of 9.07%. Veracyte's revenue for the quarter was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.31 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Veracyte will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Veracyte Company Profile

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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