Guggenheim Cuts Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Price Target to $45.00

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) had its price objective trimmed by Guggenheim from $50.00 to $45.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on VCYT. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Veracyte from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Veracyte in a report on Monday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Veracyte from $48.00 to $37.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Veracyte presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.20.

Veracyte Price Performance

VCYT stock opened at $32.40 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $35.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.31. The company has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.04 and a beta of 1.91. Veracyte has a 1-year low of $22.61 and a 1-year high of $50.71.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.12. Veracyte had a net margin of 12.83% and a return on equity of 8.05%. The company had revenue of $140.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $135.79 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.06 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Veracyte will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Veracyte news, SVP Annie Mcguire sold 6,658 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.55, for a total value of $236,691.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 94,706 shares in the company, valued at $3,366,798.30. This trade represents a 6.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Stapley sold 45,523 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.97, for a total transaction of $1,637,462.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 357,554 shares in the company, valued at $12,861,217.38. This represents a 11.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 75,782 shares of company stock worth $2,722,097. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VCYT. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in Veracyte in the third quarter worth about $31,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 289.9% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 893 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Veracyte during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in shares of Veracyte in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Veracyte by 159.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares in the last quarter.

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.