Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Price Target Raised to $44.00 at Needham & Company LLC

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) had its price objective increased by stock analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $37.00 to $44.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price objective points to a potential upside of 20.61% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on VCYT. Leerink Partners lifted their price target on shares of Veracyte from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Veracyte from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. UBS Group started coverage on Veracyte in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $43.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Guggenheim began coverage on Veracyte in a report on Thursday, October 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $39.71.

Veracyte Price Performance

Shares of VCYT opened at $36.48 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.80 billion, a PE ratio of -243.20 and a beta of 1.67. Veracyte has a one year low of $18.61 and a one year high of $41.43.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $115.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.81 million. Veracyte had a positive return on equity of 3.07% and a negative net margin of 2.18%. The firm’s revenue was up 28.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.03) earnings per share. Analysts expect that Veracyte will post 0.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Evan/ Fa Jones sold 20,457 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total value of $658,715.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 34,343 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,105,844.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Evan/ Fa Jones sold 20,457 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total value of $658,715.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 34,343 shares in the company, valued at $1,105,844.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider John Leite sold 5,479 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.78, for a total transaction of $163,164.62. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,268,461.72. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 31,109 shares of company stock valued at $1,004,125 over the last ninety days. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Veracyte

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 9.1% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,325 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $207,000 after purchasing an additional 778 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Veracyte during the first quarter valued at approximately $140,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Veracyte by 21.2% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 142,604 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,160,000 after buying an additional 24,945 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in Veracyte by 15.3% in the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 16,122 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $357,000 after acquiring an additional 2,139 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 18,342 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $406,000 after acquiring an additional 1,625 shares during the last quarter.

Veracyte Company Profile

Veracyte, Inc operates as a diagnostics company in the United States and internationally. The company offers Afirma Genomic Sequencing Classifier for cancerous thyroid nodules; Decipher Prostate Biopsy and Radical Prostatectomy for prostate cancer diagnosis; Prosigna Breast Cancer Assay for breast cancer diagnosis; Percepta Nasal Swab Test for lung cancer diagnosis; and Envisia Genomic Classifier for diagnosing interstitial lung disease, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.