Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) CFO Sells $157,401.20 in Stock

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 3,652 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.10, for a total value of $157,401.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 166,025 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,155,677.50. This represents a 2.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Veracyte Stock Performance

NASDAQ VCYT opened at $42.53 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.16 and a beta of 1.93. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $43.18. Veracyte, Inc. has a 52 week low of $29.45 and a 52 week high of $60.91.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.13. Veracyte had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 20.37%.The firm had revenue of $150.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.59 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.44 earnings per share. Veracyte’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veracyte

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Corient Private Wealth LP increased its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 26.9% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 162,021 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $9,515,000 after acquiring an additional 34,299 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its stake in Veracyte by 92.2% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 23,305 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,369,000 after purchasing an additional 11,181 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new position in Veracyte in the 2nd quarter worth about $439,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in Veracyte in the 2nd quarter worth about $719,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Veracyte by 5,665.2% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,363,282 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $314,986,000 after purchasing an additional 5,270,253 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VCYT. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Veracyte from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $66.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Veracyte from $57.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Stephens decreased their target price on Veracyte from $68.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Veracyte presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.33.

Trending Headlines about Veracyte

Here are the key news stories impacting Veracyte this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Institutional ownership trends remain supportive. Bank of America, Royal Bank of Canada and William Blair increased their positions, while Summit Creek Advisors and Deutsche Bank initiated new stakes. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $54.33, above recent trading levels. Veracyte insider trading and institutional ownership report
• Neutral Sentiment: Veracyte’s most recent reported quarter showed earnings of $0.54 per share versus the $0.41 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 15.5% year over year to $150.32 million. These results provide a fundamental backdrop of continued growth, although they are not new developments in the latest disclosures.
• Negative Sentiment: EVP Annie McGuire sold 3,254 shares for approximately $140,215, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 3,652 shares for about $157,401, and insider Phillip Febbo sold 13,110 shares valued at roughly $564,386. Each transaction was executed through a 10b5-1 plan to cover taxes, and the sellers retained substantial positions, limiting the signal that management is broadly abandoning the stock. Veracyte executive stock sale filing
• Negative Sentiment: Director Muna Bhanji separately sold 1,864 shares for approximately $80,096, reducing her position by 4.18%. The sale was also pre-arranged, but the cluster of insider transactions may reinforce short-term caution among investors. Muna Bhanji Veracyte stock sale

Veracyte Company Profile

Veracyte, Inc is a genomic diagnostics company focused on improving diagnostic accuracy and patient care through advanced molecular testing. Founded in 2008 and headquartered in South San Francisco, California, the company develops and commercializes minimally invasive genomic tests that aid in the diagnosis of thyroid, lung and other diseases. Veracyte’s proprietary platform analyzes gene expression patterns in clinical samples to help physicians make more informed treatment decisions, reducing unnecessary surgeries and improving patient outcomes.

The company’s flagship product, the Afirma Genomic Sequencing Classifier, is designed to assess thyroid nodules with indeterminate cytology, helping clinicians distinguish benign from suspicious nodules.