Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Receives $43.00 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $43.00.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $51.00 price target on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com downgraded Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Veracyte from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $37.00 target price (down from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veracyte

In other Veracyte news, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.30, for a total transaction of $403,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $745,429.10. This trade represents a 35.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veracyte

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the third quarter worth about $263,000. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the third quarter worth about $437,000. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the third quarter worth about $354,000. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 13.7% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,677 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the third quarter worth about $290,000.

Veracyte Price Performance

VCYT stock opened at $31.78 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -211.87 and a beta of 1.80. Veracyte has a 1 year low of $18.61 and a 1 year high of $47.32. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $38.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.65.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The biotechnology company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $118.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $110.73 million. Veracyte had a positive return on equity of 3.02% and a negative net margin of 2.18%. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.39) EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Veracyte will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current year.

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.