Brokerages Set Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Price Target at $41.13

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nine brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and seven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $41.13.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VCYT. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Leerink Partners boosted their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Veracyte news, CAO Jonathan Wygant sold 5,032 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.89, for a total transaction of $215,822.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 42,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,814,804.57. This represents a 10.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the insider now owns 73,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,192,282.50. The trade was a 1.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 24,038 shares of company stock worth $1,008,297. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veracyte

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VCYT. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 148,629 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,221,000 after purchasing an additional 6,025 shares during the period. Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Veracyte during the 2nd quarter worth $217,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Veracyte during the 2nd quarter worth $58,000. AXA S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Veracyte during the 2nd quarter worth $347,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 42,766 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $927,000 after purchasing an additional 2,135 shares during the period.

Veracyte Stock Performance

Shares of VCYT stock opened at $43.67 on Friday. Veracyte has a fifty-two week low of $18.61 and a fifty-two week high of $46.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a P/E ratio of -291.13 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $42.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.14.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last posted 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 company had revenue of $115.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 was up 28.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.03) EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Veracyte will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.