Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Shares Up 8.7%

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)’s stock price shot up 8.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $24.58 and last traded at $24.56. 562,968 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 18% from the average session volume of 682,963 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.59.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on VCYT. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $33.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Veracyte currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $27.50.

Veracyte Stock Up 13.1 %

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.74. The stock has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.19 and a beta of 1.65.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.19) by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $96.84 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.35 million. Veracyte had a negative net margin of 18.16% and a negative return on equity of 1.42%. The company’s revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.11) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Veracyte, Inc. will post -0.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Veracyte news, Director Karin Eastham sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.97, for a total transaction of $52,425.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 33,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $694,631.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Muna Bhanji sold 3,870 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.32, for a total transaction of $78,638.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,105 shares in the company, valued at $469,493.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Karin Eastham sold 2,500 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.97, for a total transaction of $52,425.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 33,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $694,631.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,909 shares of company stock valued at $163,382. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veracyte

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VCYT. Diversified Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Veracyte by 22.7% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 28,060 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $608,000 after purchasing an additional 5,200 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in Veracyte by 37.4% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,703 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $189,000 after purchasing an additional 2,367 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Veracyte by 3.2% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 129,416 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $2,804,000 after purchasing an additional 4,015 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its stake in Veracyte by 168.3% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 951 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Veracyte by 604.2% during the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 62,686 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,358,000 after purchasing an additional 53,784 shares during the period.

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.