Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on VCYT. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on Veracyte from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Veracyte from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Veracyte in a report on Thursday, October 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Wolfe Research started coverage on Veracyte in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Veracyte from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Veracyte presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.13.

Veracyte Price Performance

NASDAQ VCYT traded up $0.74 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $43.67. 537,780 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 825,140. Veracyte has a 52-week low of $18.61 and a 52-week high of $46.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.14. The firm has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a PE ratio of -291.13 and a beta of 1.71.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.16. Veracyte had a positive return on equity of 3.02% and a negative net margin of 2.18%. The firm had revenue of $115.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.81 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.03) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Veracyte will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Veracyte

In other news, CAO Jonathan Wygant sold 956 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.36, for a total value of $41,452.16. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 40,270 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,746,107.20. This trade represents a 2.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Leite sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.25, for a total value of $45,412.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 73,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,192,282.50. The trade was a 1.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 24,038 shares of company stock worth $1,008,297. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Veracyte

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VCYT. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Veracyte by 0.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,916,515 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $99,278,000 after acquiring an additional 7,920 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Veracyte by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,844,713 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $62,806,000 after purchasing an additional 17,921 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Veracyte by 116.3% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 833,754 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $33,017,000 after buying an additional 448,251 shares during the last quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Veracyte by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 677,883 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $23,075,000 after acquiring an additional 113,883 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the second quarter valued at approximately $12,279,000.

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.