Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

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

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Veracyte in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. Leerink Partners lifted their target price on shares of Veracyte from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Veracyte from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Guggenheim assumed coverage on Veracyte in a report on Thursday, October 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $37.00 target price (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.00.

Veracyte Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of Veracyte stock opened at $44.54 on Tuesday. Veracyte has a twelve month low of $18.61 and a twelve month high of $46.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $42.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a PE ratio of -296.90 and a beta of 1.71.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $115.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.81 million. Veracyte had a positive return on equity of 3.02% and a negative net margin of 2.18%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.03) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Veracyte will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Veracyte

In other Veracyte news, CAO Jonathan Wygant sold 956 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.36, for a total transaction of $41,452.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 40,270 shares in the company, valued at $1,746,107.20. The trade was a 2.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $745,429.10. This trade represents a 35.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 24,038 shares of company stock worth $1,008,297. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,916,515 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $99,278,000 after purchasing an additional 7,920 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,844,713 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $62,806,000 after acquiring an additional 17,921 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 116.3% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 833,754 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $33,017,000 after acquiring an additional 448,251 shares in the last quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Veracyte by 20.2% during the third quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 677,883 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $23,075,000 after purchasing an additional 113,883 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Veracyte in the second quarter valued at about $12,279,000.

Veracyte Company Profile

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.