Wolfe Research Begins Coverage on Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT)

Stock analysts at Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) in a report issued on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The firm set an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock. Wolfe Research’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 39.12% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Leerink Partners raised their price target on Veracyte from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Guggenheim started coverage on Veracyte in a report on Thursday, October 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank raised their price target on Veracyte from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Veracyte from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Veracyte from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Veracyte currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.00.

Veracyte Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ VCYT opened at $35.94 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.61. Veracyte has a 1-year low of $18.61 and a 1-year high of $41.43. The firm has a market cap of $2.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -239.60 and a beta of 1.67.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.16. Veracyte had a positive return on equity of 3.02% and a negative net margin of 2.18%. The business had revenue of $115.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.81 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.03) earnings per share. Veracyte’s revenue was up 28.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Veracyte will post 0.16 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Evan/ Fa Jones sold 5,173 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.23, for a total value of $182,244.79. Following the sale, the director now owns 34,343 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,209,903.89. This trade represents a 13.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John Leite sold 5,479 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.78, for a total value of $163,164.62. Following the sale, the insider now owns 76,174 shares in the company, valued at $2,268,461.72. The trade was a 6.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veracyte

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VCYT. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Veracyte during the second quarter valued at about $12,279,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its position in Veracyte by 23.3% during the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,697,600 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $59,779,000 after purchasing an additional 509,340 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in Veracyte by 67.4% during the second 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. Bamco Inc. NY raised its position in Veracyte by 46.3% during the first quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,115,806 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $24,726,000 after purchasing an additional 353,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in Veracyte by 288.6% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 360,871 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $12,284,000 after purchasing an additional 268,000 shares in the last quarter.

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.