Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Receives $41.13 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $41.13.

Several analysts have commented on VCYT shares. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. Leerink Partners increased their price objective on Veracyte from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Veracyte from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $37.00 price target (down from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Thursday, December 5th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 7,000 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.23, for a total transaction of $302,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 114,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,929,819.51. This trade represents a 5.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Leite sold 1,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.25, for a total value of $45,412.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 73,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,192,282.50. This represents a 1.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,038 shares of company stock valued at $605,297. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Veracyte

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Veracyte in the third quarter worth about $554,000. Eventide Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Veracyte by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 677,883 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $23,075,000 after purchasing an additional 113,883 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in Veracyte during the third quarter worth approximately $574,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Veracyte in the third quarter valued at approximately $723,000. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the third quarter valued at approximately $820,000.

Veracyte Stock Performance

Shares of VCYT opened at $41.91 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a PE ratio of -279.40 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $39.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.51. Veracyte has a fifty-two week low of $18.61 and a fifty-two week high of $46.00.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $115.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.81 million. Veracyte had a positive return on equity of 3.02% and a negative net margin of 2.18%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.03) EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Veracyte will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

About Veracyte

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.