Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $60.97 and last traded at $59.3450, with a volume of 1519 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $60.49.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VCYT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Veracyte in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded Veracyte from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Veracyte from $48.00 to $37.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Veracyte from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, three have given 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 a consensus target price of $47.57.

Veracyte Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $4.75 billion, a PE ratio of 54.61 and a beta of 1.98. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.79.

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

Insider Transactions at Veracyte

In other Veracyte news, SVP Annie Mcguire sold 10,204 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.02, for a total transaction of $398,160.08. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 143,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,607,486.16. This represents a 6.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Marc Stapley sold 138,051 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.12, for a total value of $6,919,116.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 440,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,077,559.28. The trade was a 23.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. Insiders have sold a total of 206,696 shares of company stock worth $10,079,058 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veracyte

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its position 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 last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in 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 worth $1,862,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 566 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 7,894 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $332,000 after buying an additional 576 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew 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 worth $47,000 after buying an additional 679 shares during the period.

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.