Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on VCYT. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $37.00 price target (down from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Leerink Partners increased their target price on Veracyte from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Veracyte from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Veracyte from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Veracyte presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.13.

Veracyte Stock Performance

Veracyte stock opened at $40.58 on Friday. Veracyte has a 12 month low of $18.61 and a 12 month high of $46.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $41.30 and its 200-day moving average is $33.91.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.16. Veracyte had a negative net margin of 2.18% and a positive return on equity of 3.02%. The firm had revenue of $115.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.81 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.03) earnings per share. Veracyte’s revenue was up 28.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Veracyte will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Veracyte

In related news, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.30, for a total value of $403,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $745,429.10. The trade was a 35.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.23, for a total value of $302,610.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 114,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,929,819.51. This represents a 5.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 24,038 shares of company stock valued at $1,008,297. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veracyte

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legal Advantage Investments Inc. acquired a new position in Veracyte in the fourth quarter worth $250,000. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in shares of Veracyte in the 4th quarter worth about $1,379,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 261,214 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $10,415,000 after buying an additional 11,078 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Veracyte during the 3rd quarter valued at about $9,498,000. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in Veracyte by 16.2% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 22,865 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $778,000 after acquiring an additional 3,195 shares during the period.

About Veracyte

Veracyte, Inc engages in the research, development and commercialization of diagnostic products. The firm’s portfolio includes Afirma, Percepta, and Envisia. It intends to treat thyroid cancer, improve lung cancer screening, and clarify the diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The company was founded by Bonnie H.