Veracyte’s (VCYT) Buy Rating Reiterated at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reissued their buy rating on shares of Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $51.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock.

VCYT has been the topic of several other reports. Wolfe Research started coverage on Veracyte in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Veracyte from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $37.00 price objective (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Veracyte has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

Veracyte Trading Down 4.8 %

Shares of VCYT stock opened at $33.84 on Tuesday. Veracyte has a 12 month low of $18.61 and a 12 month high of $47.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -225.60 and a beta of 1.71. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $41.63 and its 200 day moving average is $37.61.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The biotechnology company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $118.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $110.73 million. Veracyte had a positive return on equity of 3.02% and a negative net margin of 2.18%. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.39) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Veracyte will post 0.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.23, for a total transaction of $302,610.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 114,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,929,819.51. This trade represents a 5.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.30, for a total value of $403,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $745,429.10. The trade was a 35.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,533 shares of company stock worth $815,584. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 49.7% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 714 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new stake in Veracyte in the fourth quarter worth $64,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in Veracyte by 57.4% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,774 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 647 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 34.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,909 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 13.7% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,677 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the period.

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.