Zacks Research Upgrades Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) to Strong-Buy

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Veracyte from Hold to Strong-Buy, adding to a generally positive analyst backdrop. The stock now has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $50.43.
• Veracyte recently posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.52 versus estimates of $0.34 and revenue of $139.07 million versus expectations of $130.36 million. Revenue also rose 21.5% year over year.
• The stock was trading near $56.12, close to its 52-week high of $60.91, while insiders have been selling shares, including CEO Marc Stapley’s pre-arranged sale. Despite that, institutional investors have recently increased or initiated positions in the company.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on VCYT. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Veracyte in a report on Monday, April 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $45.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Veracyte from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Finally, 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 note on Monday, June 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.43.

Veracyte Trading Down 0.1%

NASDAQ VCYT opened at $56.12 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.49 and a beta of 1.93. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $47.65 and a 200 day moving average of $40.64. Veracyte has a twelve month low of $22.61 and a twelve month high of $60.91.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.18. The company 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 earned $0.31 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Veracyte will post 1.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Marc Stapley sold 138,051 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.12, for a total value 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. The trade was a 23.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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, SVP Annie Mcguire sold 10,204 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.02, for a total value of $398,160.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 143,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,607,486.16. This represents a 6.63% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 206,696 shares of company stock worth $10,079,058. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 289.9% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 893 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in Veracyte during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Veracyte in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 159.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 146.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,454 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 864 shares during the period.

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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