Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Reaches New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $41.93 and last traded at $41.89, with a volume of 176589 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $41.10.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on VCYT. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Veracyte in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Leerink Partners raised their target price on shares of Veracyte from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Veracyte from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.25.

Veracyte Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $35.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.27 billion, a P/E ratio of -274.00 and a beta of 1.67.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $115.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.81 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.03) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 28.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veracyte

In related news, Director Evan/ Fa Jones sold 5,173 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.23, for a total value of $182,244.79. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,343 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,209,903.89. This represents a 13.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John Leite sold 5,479 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.78, for a total transaction of $163,164.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 76,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,268,461.72. This trade represents a 6.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veracyte

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VCYT. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Veracyte by 2,331.6% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,386 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,329 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Veracyte by 168.3% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 951 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Veracyte in the second quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Veracyte in the second quarter valued at approximately $83,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Veracyte during the second quarter valued at approximately $85,000.

About Veracyte

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.