Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on VCYT. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price target on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Veracyte from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Monday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.14.

Veracyte Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VCYT traded down $0.41 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $42.04. The stock had a trading volume of 21,918 shares, compared to its average volume of 667,323. The firm has a market cap of $3.32 billion, a PE ratio of 110.63 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a 50 day moving average of $43.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.14. Veracyte has a twelve month low of $22.61 and a twelve month high of $50.71.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The biotechnology company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $131.87 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $124.62 million. Veracyte had a return on equity of 7.23% and a net margin of 6.12%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.33 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Veracyte will post 0.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Evan/ Fa Jones sold 43,196 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.06, for a total value of $1,946,411.76. Following the sale, the director owned 30,468 shares in the company, valued at $1,372,888.08. This trade represents a 58.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jens Holstein sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.36, for a total transaction of $423,600.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 27,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,152,149.64. This represents a 26.88% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 134,635 shares of company stock worth $5,981,961. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veracyte

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Veracyte by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 23,158 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $795,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 0.8% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 71,095 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,922,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey lifted its position in Veracyte by 4.6% during the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 17,991 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $486,000 after buying an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Veracyte by 146.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,454 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 864 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Veracyte by 4.0% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 22,732 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $614,000 after buying an additional 865 shares during the last quarter.

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.