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

Key Points

• Veracyte has an average analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" from nine covering firms, with an average 12-month price target of about $47.57.
• The company recently reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings and revenue, helping the stock stay sharply higher after the earnings release; quarterly revenue rose 21.5% year over year.
• Several recent analyst updates were mixed, including Needham and UBS raising targets while Morgan Stanley cut its target and kept an underweight rating, alongside notable insider stock sales by the CEO and another executive.

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the nine ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $47.5714.

A number of research analysts recently commented on VCYT shares. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Veracyte from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $37.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 5th.

Key Veracyte News

Here are the key news stories impacting Veracyte this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Veracyte has stayed sharply higher since its latest earnings report, suggesting investors are still encouraged by the company’s recent beat on both earnings and revenue and its improved growth outlook. Why Is Veracyte (VCYT) Up 18.2% Since Last Earnings Report?
• Positive Sentiment: The company also highlighted ASCO findings from its OPTIMA and ENZAMET Phase III trials in breast and prostate cancer, which could support Veracyte’s precision-diagnostics growth story. Veracyte, Inc. (VCYT) Discusses ASCO Findings From OPTIMA and ENZAMET Phase III Trials in Breast and Prostate Cancer - Slideshow

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Veracyte news, insider John Leite sold 13,975 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.07, for a total value of $699,728.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 132,305 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,624,511.35. The trade was a 9.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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. Also, CEO Marc Stapley sold 138,051 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.12, for a total transaction of $6,919,116.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 440,494 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,077,559.28. This represents a 23.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 three months, insiders sold 202,967 shares of company stock valued at $9,881,831. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Veracyte

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 159.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 289.9% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 893 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 146.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,454 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 864 shares during the last quarter.

Veracyte Price Performance

Veracyte stock opened at $48.73 on Monday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $37.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.07. The company has a market cap of $3.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.71 and a beta of 1.98. Veracyte has a fifty-two week low of $22.61 and a fifty-two week high of $50.71.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $139.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $130.36 million. Veracyte had a net margin of 16.25% and a return on equity of 9.07%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.31 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Veracyte will post 1.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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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