UBS Group Increases Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Price Target to $49.00

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) had its price objective increased by equities research analysts at UBS Group from $46.00 to $49.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 43.21% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. 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. StockNews.com downgraded Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Veracyte in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $51.00 price target on shares of Veracyte in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.00.

Veracyte Stock Down 13.1 %

VCYT stock traded down $5.14 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $34.22. 832,423 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 791,749. The firm has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a PE ratio of -227.90 and a beta of 1.71. Veracyte has a 1-year low of $18.61 and a 1-year high of $47.32. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $41.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.60.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The biotechnology company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $118.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $110.73 million. Veracyte had a positive return on equity of 3.02% and a negative net margin of 2.18%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.39) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Veracyte will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.30, for a total transaction of $403,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $745,429.10. This represents a 35.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Leite sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.25, for a total transaction of $45,412.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 73,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,192,282.50. This represents a 1.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,565 shares of company stock valued at $1,031,406 in the last ninety days. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veracyte

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VCYT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Veracyte by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,211,612 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $325,180,000 after acquiring an additional 463,098 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 31.4% during the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 6,599,264 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $261,331,000 after acquiring an additional 1,576,432 shares during the period. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC increased its stake in Veracyte by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 3,080,027 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $121,969,000 after acquiring an additional 97,824 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Veracyte by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,916,515 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $99,278,000 after purchasing an additional 7,920 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Veracyte by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,844,713 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $62,806,000 after buying an additional 17,921 shares during the last quarter.

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.