Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Now Covered by Analysts at Wolfe Research

Key Points

• Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Veracyte with an outperform rating and a $55 price target, implying about 18% upside from the current share price.
• Veracyte recently reported strong quarterly results, with earnings of $0.52 per share beating estimates and revenue of $139.1 million topping forecasts, while sales rose 21.5% year over year.
• The stock has attracted mixed analyst sentiment overall, with a consensus rating of Hold and average price target of $47.57; shares traded around $46.46 after moving near their 52-week high.

Research analysts at Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) in a report issued on Tuesday. The firm set an "outperform" rating and a $55.00 price target on the biotechnology company's stock. Wolfe Research's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 18.38% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on VCYT. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Veracyte from $48.00 to $37.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Zacks Research downgraded Veracyte from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Needham & Company LLC set a $57.00 price objective on Veracyte and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Veracyte from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $47.57.

Veracyte Price Performance

NASDAQ VCYT traded up $0.12 on Tuesday, hitting $46.46. 1,527,102 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,158,404. Veracyte has a twelve month low of $22.61 and a twelve month high of $50.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.00 and a beta of 1.89. The company's 50 day moving average price is $36.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.83.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.18. Veracyte had a net margin of 16.25% and a return on equity of 9.07%. The company had revenue of $139.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $130.36 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.31 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Veracyte will post 1.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veracyte

In related news, Director Robert S. Epstein sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.01, for a total value of $440,100.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 52,446 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,308,148.46. This represents a 16.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Marc Stapley sold 45,523 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.97, for a total transaction of $1,637,462.31. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 357,554 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,861,217.38. The trade was a 11.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 119,986 shares of company stock worth $4,649,957 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Veracyte

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,504,088 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $291,945,000 after purchasing an additional 403,737 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its position in Veracyte by 16.6% during the third quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 7,370,467 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $253,028,000 after buying an additional 1,048,692 shares during the last quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC increased its position in Veracyte by 17.5% during the third quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 4,465,775 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $153,310,000 after buying an additional 665,686 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,360,913 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $183,594,000 after acquiring an additional 161,239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,118,166 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $107,042,000 after acquiring an additional 95,664 shares in 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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