Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Trading Up 5.8% – What’s Next?

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) shares shot up 5.8% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $51.84 and last traded at $51.9950. 445,766 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 54% from the average session volume of 964,218 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.15.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on VCYT. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Veracyte from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $37.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.57.

Veracyte Stock Up 5.8%

The business’s 50 day moving average is $39.77 and its 200-day moving average is $39.28. The firm has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.67 and a beta of 1.98.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $139.07 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $130.36 million. Veracyte had a net margin of 16.25% and a return on equity of 9.07%. The business’s revenue was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 3,561 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.73, for a total value of $177,088.53. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 173,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,617,214.40. The trade was a 2.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Marc Stapley sold 138,051 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.12, for a total transaction of $6,919,116.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 440,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,077,559.28. This trade represents a 23.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 202,967 shares of company stock valued at $9,881,831. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veracyte

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Veracyte during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Veracyte during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Veracyte by 159.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Veracyte by 289.9% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 893 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Veracyte by 146.4% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,454 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 864 shares during the last quarter.

Veracyte Company Profile

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.