UBS Group Initiates Coverage on Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT)

Stock analysts at UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) in a research report issued on Wednesday, Briefing.com reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $43.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock. UBS Group’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 26.21% from the stock’s previous close.

VCYT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Veracyte from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Veracyte from $31.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Guggenheim assumed coverage on Veracyte in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Veracyte presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.80.

Veracyte Price Performance

NASDAQ:VCYT opened at $34.07 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.26. Veracyte has a fifty-two week low of $18.61 and a fifty-two week high of $35.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a PE ratio of -36.24 and a beta of 1.67.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $114.43 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $100.27 million. Veracyte had a negative net margin of 13.52% and a positive return on equity of 1.52%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 26.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.12) EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Veracyte will post 0.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Veracyte news, Director Evan/ Fa Jones sold 5,173 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.23, for a total value of $182,244.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,343 shares in the company, valued at $1,209,903.89. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Jens Holstein sold 5,000 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total transaction of $145,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $808,462. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Evan/ Fa Jones sold 5,173 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.23, for a total value of $182,244.79. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,343 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,209,903.89. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 37,141 shares of company stock worth $1,180,116. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VCYT. Creative Planning bought a new position in Veracyte during the third quarter worth $396,000. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 215.0% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,776 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $163,000 after buying an additional 3,260 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 16.4% during the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 32,661 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,112,000 after buying an additional 4,601 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in Veracyte by 24.5% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 27,406 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $933,000 after buying an additional 5,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Veracyte by 133.4% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 20,309 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $691,000 after buying an additional 11,606 shares during the last quarter.

About Veracyte

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.