OncoCyte (NASDAQ:OCX) Given Buy Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reiterated their buy rating on shares of OncoCyte (NASDAQ:OCX) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $4.25 target price on the stock.

Separately, StockNews.com initiated coverage on OncoCyte in a research report on Monday, January 13th. They set a “sell” rating for the company.

OncoCyte Stock Performance

NASDAQ:OCX opened at $3.04 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $2.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $2.72. OncoCyte has a 52 week low of $1.92 and a 52 week high of $4.75.

OncoCyte (NASDAQ:OCX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 24th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.40) by $0.88. The business had revenue of $1.49 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.16 million. OncoCyte had a negative net margin of 6,122.29% and a negative return on equity of 269.32%. On average, equities research analysts predict that OncoCyte will post -2.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at OncoCyte

In other news, CFO Andrea S. James purchased 97,561 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $2.05 per share, with a total value of $200,000.05. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 151,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $310,023.55. The trade was a 181.78 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Patrick W. Smith bought 90,219 shares of OncoCyte stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $2.13 per share, with a total value of $192,166.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,773,903 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,778,413.39. This trade represents a 5.36 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 1,288,344 shares of company stock worth $2,649,051. Company insiders own 1.58% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On OncoCyte

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FNY Investment Advisers LLC grew its position in OncoCyte by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 49,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,000 after acquiring an additional 6,481 shares during the period. Ground Swell Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of OncoCyte in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of OncoCyte by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 103,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 11,289 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC bought a new position in OncoCyte during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in OncoCyte during the 4th quarter valued at about $126,000. 55.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

OncoCyte Company Profile

OncoCyte Corporation, a precision diagnostics company, focuses on development and commercialization of proprietary tests in the United States and internationally. The company is developing DetermaIO, a gene expression test that assesses the tumor microenvironment to predict response to immunotherapies; DetermaCNI, a blood-based monitoring tool for monitoring therapeutic efficacy in cancer patients; and VitaGraft, a blood-based solid organ transplantation monitoring test.