Brokerages Set Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Price Target at $31.25

Shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $31.25.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on VCYT shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Veracyte from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Veracyte from $31.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th.

Insider Activity

In other Veracyte news, Director Evan/ Fa Jones sold 20,457 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total value of $658,715.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 34,343 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,105,844.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Veracyte news, Director Evan/ Fa Jones sold 20,457 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total transaction of $658,715.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 34,343 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,105,844.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Karin Eastham sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total value of $187,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 33,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $830,700. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 40,745 shares of company stock worth $1,217,296. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veracyte

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VCYT. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the 2nd quarter worth about $12,279,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 23.3% in the 1st quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,697,600 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $59,779,000 after acquiring an additional 509,340 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Veracyte by 67.4% during the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,241,671 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $26,907,000 after purchasing an additional 500,020 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Veracyte in the 4th quarter valued at $11,190,000. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY boosted its stake in Veracyte by 46.3% in the first quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,115,806 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $24,726,000 after purchasing an additional 353,000 shares in the last quarter.

Veracyte Price Performance

NASDAQ VCYT opened at $35.25 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.71 billion, a P/E ratio of -37.50 and a beta of 1.66. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $28.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.77. Veracyte has a fifty-two week low of $18.61 and a fifty-two week high of $35.51.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.10. Veracyte had a positive return on equity of 1.52% and a negative net margin of 13.52%. The firm had revenue of $114.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $100.27 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.12) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Veracyte will post 0.16 EPS for the current year.

Veracyte Company Profile

Veracyte, Inc operates as a diagnostics company in the United States and internationally. The company offers Afirma Genomic Sequencing Classifier for cancerous thyroid nodules; Decipher Prostate Biopsy and Radical Prostatectomy for prostate cancer diagnosis; Prosigna Breast Cancer Assay for breast cancer diagnosis; Percepta Nasal Swab Test for lung cancer diagnosis; and Envisia Genomic Classifier for diagnosing interstitial lung disease, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.