Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Shares Gap Down Following Insider Selling

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $44.09, but opened at $42.00. Veracyte shares last traded at $43.17, with a volume of 109,883 shares trading hands.

Specifically, CAO Jonathan Wygant sold 956 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 40,270 shares in the company, valued at $1,746,107.20. This represents a 2.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 7,000 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.23, for a total value of $302,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 114,037 shares in the company, valued at $4,929,819.51. The trade was a 5.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In related news, insider John Leite sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VCYT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Veracyte from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Veracyte from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.13.

Veracyte Stock Down 2.8 %

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a P/E ratio of -285.60 and a beta of 1.69.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $115.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.81 million. Veracyte had a negative net margin of 2.18% and a positive return on equity of 3.02%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.03) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Veracyte

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VCYT. Eventide Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 677,883 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $23,075,000 after acquiring an additional 113,883 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Veracyte in the 3rd quarter valued at $723,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in Veracyte in the third quarter worth $574,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 21.8% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 87,555 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,897,000 after purchasing an additional 15,647 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Veracyte by 22.7% in the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 28,060 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $608,000 after buying an additional 5,200 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.