Insider Selling: Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Director Sells $197,226.81 in Stock

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Director Karin Eastham sold 3,729 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.89, for a total value of $197,226.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 15,097 shares in the company, valued at $798,480.33. The trade was a 19.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Veracyte Stock Up 5.5%

Veracyte stock opened at $56.76 on Thursday. Veracyte, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.61 and a 52-week high of $58.05. The company has a market cap of $4.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.07 and a beta of 1.98. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.58.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $139.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $130.36 million. Veracyte had a net margin of 16.25% and a return on equity of 9.07%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.31 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veracyte

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Veracyte by 2.3% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 552 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 worth $1,922,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Veracyte by 7.9% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Veracyte by 159.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 679 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on VCYT shares. Morgan Stanley dropped 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, March 5th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on Veracyte from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Zacks Research cut Veracyte from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Guggenheim lowered their target price on Veracyte from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Veracyte from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.57.

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.