StockNews.com Upgrades Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) to “Buy”

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on VCYT. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Veracyte from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Veracyte from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group upped their target price on Veracyte from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Leerink Partners raised their price target on Veracyte from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Veracyte in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.13.

Veracyte Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VCYT opened at $40.58 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $41.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.00. Veracyte has a 12 month low of $18.61 and a 12 month high of $46.00. The company has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -270.53 and a beta of 1.71.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $115.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.81 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.03) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 28.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Veracyte will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Veracyte news, insider John Leite sold 1,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.25, for a total transaction of $45,412.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 73,810 shares in the company, valued at $3,192,282.50. This represents a 1.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Jonathan Wygant sold 5,032 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.89, for a total value of $215,822.48. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 42,313 shares in the company, valued at $1,814,804.57. This trade represents a 10.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,038 shares of company stock worth $1,008,297. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veracyte

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VCYT. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Veracyte during the second quarter valued at about $12,279,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Veracyte during the third quarter valued at about $9,498,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Veracyte by 288.6% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in Veracyte by 276.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 301,652 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $10,268,000 after purchasing an additional 221,504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Castleark Management LLC purchased a new stake in Veracyte during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,010,000.

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.