Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) PT Raised to $31.00

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) had its target price lifted by Needham & Company LLC from $27.00 to $31.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 3.44% from the stock’s current price.

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Veracyte from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.50.

Veracyte Stock Performance

Shares of Veracyte stock opened at $29.97 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $22.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.35. The company has a market cap of $2.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -31.87 and a beta of 1.65. Veracyte has a one year low of $18.61 and a one year high of $30.86.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.10. Veracyte had a positive return on equity of 1.54% and a negative net margin of 13.52%. The company had revenue of $114.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $100.27 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.12) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 26.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Veracyte will post -0.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Veracyte news, insider John Leite sold 1,277 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $31,925.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 82,968 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,074,200. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Veracyte news, Director Karin Eastham sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $187,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 33,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $830,700. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Leite sold 1,277 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total value of $31,925.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 82,968 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,074,200. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,686 shares of company stock valued at $382,807 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veracyte

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wrapmanager Inc. increased its position in Veracyte by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. Wrapmanager Inc. now owns 17,910 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $388,000 after purchasing an additional 1,684 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Veracyte by 67.4% in the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,241,671 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $26,907,000 after buying an additional 500,020 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC lifted its stake in Veracyte by 34.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 20,580 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $446,000 after buying an additional 5,223 shares in the last quarter. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC purchased a new position in shares of Veracyte during the 2nd quarter worth $257,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 20,806 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 733 shares during the period.

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.