Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Lowered to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Veracyte from $49.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Craig Hallum started coverage on Veracyte in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on Veracyte from $51.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Guggenheim cut their target price on Veracyte from $45.00 to $37.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $40.90.

Veracyte Stock Performance

Veracyte stock traded up $0.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $27.38. The stock had a trading volume of 3,600,298 shares, compared to its average volume of 913,642. Veracyte has a fifty-two week low of $19.73 and a fifty-two week high of $47.32. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $28.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a PE ratio of 66.78 and a beta of 2.09.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VCYT. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its position in Veracyte by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 6,599,264 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $261,331,000 after purchasing an additional 1,576,432 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Veracyte in the first quarter worth $33,003,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Veracyte by 768.9% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 956,577 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $37,880,000 after purchasing an additional 846,487 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Veracyte by 226.8% in the fourth quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 1,183,766 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $46,877,000 after purchasing an additional 821,554 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Veracyte in the fourth quarter worth $20,717,000.

Veracyte Company Profile

Veracyte, Inc engages in the research, development and commercialization of diagnostic products. The firm's portfolio includes Afirma, Percepta, and Envisia. It intends to treat thyroid cancer, improve lung cancer screening, and clarify the diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The company was founded by Bonnie H.