Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) CEO Marc Stapley Sells 45,523 Shares of Stock

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) CEO Marc Stapley sold 45,523 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.97, for a total value of $1,637,462.31. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 357,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,861,217.38. This represents a 11.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Veracyte Stock Performance

VCYT stock opened at $33.85 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.02. Veracyte, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.61 and a fifty-two week high of $50.71. The company has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.78 and a beta of 1.91.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $140.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $135.79 million. Veracyte had a return on equity of 8.05% and a net margin of 12.83%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.06 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Veracyte by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 18,100 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $762,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased 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 valued at $795,000 after buying an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in shares of Veracyte by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 44,264 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,862,000 after buying an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Veracyte by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 71,095 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,922,000 after buying an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 7,894 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $332,000 after buying an additional 576 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on VCYT shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $37.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Monday, January 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.14.

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.