Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Sets New 1-Year High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Veracyte shares hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $52.45 after closing previously at $49.15, with heavy volume of about 1.77 million shares.
• Recent analyst activity has been mostly positive, including price target increases from Needham and UBS and a new outperform rating from Wolfe Research. MarketBeat data shows a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average target price of $47.57.
• The company’s latest earnings beat expectations, with Q1 EPS of $0.52 versus the $0.34 estimate and revenue of $139.07 million, up 21.5% year over year. Insiders have also sold shares recently, including sales by Annie Mcguire and John Leite under pre-arranged trading plans.

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $52.45 and last traded at $50.92, with a volume of 1769979 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $49.15.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VCYT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Veracyte from $48.00 to $37.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Veracyte in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim lowered their price target on Veracyte from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.57.

Veracyte Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $4.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.72 and a beta of 1.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $40.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.30.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 9.07% and a net margin of 16.25%.Veracyte's quarterly revenue was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.31 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Annie Mcguire sold 10,204 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.02, for a total transaction of $398,160.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 143,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,607,486.16. This represents a 6.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider John Leite sold 13,975 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.07, for a total transaction of $699,728.25. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 132,305 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,624,511.35. This represents a 9.55% 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. Insiders sold 202,967 shares of company stock worth $9,881,831 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Veracyte

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Veracyte during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $58,158,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Veracyte in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,064,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Veracyte by 16.6% during the 3rd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 7,370,467 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $253,028,000 after acquiring an additional 1,048,692 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in Veracyte by 64.9% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,117,046 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $68,190,000 after acquiring an additional 833,543 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its position in shares of Veracyte by 770.6% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 897,387 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $24,256,000 after acquiring an additional 794,307 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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