Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Consensus "Hold": Eight analysts cover Veracyte with a consensus Hold (1 sell, 3 hold, 4 buy) and an average 12‑month price target of $44.33.
• Quarterly results beat expectations — EPS $0.53 vs. $0.41 consensus and revenue $140.6M vs. $135.8M — with revenue up 18.5% year‑over‑year and sell‑side EPS estimate for the year at 0.68.
• Insider selling of 75,782 shares (~$2.72M) occurred over the last three months while the stock trades near $33.80 (50‑day $33.88, 200‑day $38.27) with a 52‑week range of $22.61–$50.71 and a market cap of $2.69B.

Shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the eight analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $44.3333.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on VCYT. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Veracyte from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, December 27th. Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of Veracyte from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Veracyte in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Veracyte in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Veracyte in a report on Monday, April 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $45.00 price target for the company.

Veracyte Price Performance

NASDAQ VCYT opened at $33.80 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $33.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.27. Veracyte has a fifty-two week low of $22.61 and a fifty-two week high of $50.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.69 billion, a PE ratio of 40.72 and a beta of 1.96.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $140.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $135.79 million. Veracyte had a return on equity of 8.05% and a net margin of 12.83%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.06 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Veracyte will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Veracyte

In related news, SVP Annie Mcguire sold 6,658 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.55, for a total value of $236,691.90. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 94,706 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,366,798.30. The trade was a 6.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Leite sold 5,260 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.19, for a total transaction of $185,099.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 107,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,740.20. This represents a 4.66% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 75,782 shares of company stock valued at $2,722,097 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Veracyte

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of VCYT. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 23.3% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 28,712 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $852,000 after purchasing an additional 5,435 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 12.2% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 195,793 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $5,805,000 after purchasing an additional 21,330 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 94.7% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 216,909 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $6,431,000 after purchasing an additional 105,499 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 54.1% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 42,762 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,268,000 after purchasing an additional 15,017 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 32.2% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 48,786 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,319,000 after purchasing an additional 11,889 shares during the last quarter.

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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