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

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Veracyte to “strong buy” from “hold,” while broader analyst coverage remains favorable with a consensus “moderate buy” rating and an average price target of $54.33.
• Veracyte reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.54 versus a $0.41 estimate and revenue of $150.32 million, up 15.5% year over year.
• Shares opened at $44.68, below the 50-day moving average of $53.63 but above the 200-day average of $42.52; institutional investors also initiated several positions, including an approximately $84.1 million stake by William Blair Investment Management.

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

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Veracyte from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Veracyte from $66.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. UBS Group increased their target price on Veracyte from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Veracyte in a research note on Monday, April 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on Veracyte in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $54.33.

Veracyte Price Performance

VCYT stock opened at $44.68 on Tuesday. The business's 50-day moving average is $53.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.69 and a beta of 1.95. Veracyte has a 1 year low of $28.25 and a 1 year high of $60.91.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.13. Veracyte had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 20.37%.The business had revenue of $150.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.59 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.44 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Veracyte will post 1.32 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John Leite sold 13,975 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.07, for a total value 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 trade represents a 9.55% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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, CEO Marc Stapley sold 138,051 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.12, for a total transaction of $6,919,116.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 440,494 shares in the company, valued at $22,077,559.28. This trade represents a 23.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 196,492 shares of company stock worth $9,680,897. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Veracyte

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,583,000. Globeflex Capital L P acquired a new position in Veracyte during the second quarter worth approximately $4,380,000. Commerce Bank purchased a new stake in Veracyte in the second quarter valued at approximately $867,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the second quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the second quarter valued at approximately $84,078,000.

About Veracyte

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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