John Leite Sells 5,260 Shares of Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Stock

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) insider John Leite sold 5,260 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.19, for a total transaction of $185,099.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 107,580 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,740.20. The trade was a 4.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Veracyte Trading Down 2.4%

Veracyte stock opened at $33.85 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.78 and a beta of 1.91. Veracyte, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.61 and a 12 month high of $50.71. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $39.08 and its 200-day moving average is $38.08.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.12. Veracyte had a net margin of 12.83% and a return on equity of 8.05%. The business had revenue of $140.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $135.79 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.06 earnings per share. Veracyte’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veracyte

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VCYT. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in Veracyte by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 18,100 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $762,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in Veracyte by 1.8% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 23,158 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $795,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 44,264 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,862,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 0.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Veracyte by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 7,894 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $332,000 after purchasing an additional 576 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 27th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Veracyte from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $37.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.