Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $29.00.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Veracyte in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Veracyte from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 15th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.65, for a total value of $216,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 33,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $717,156.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Veracyte

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Russell Investments Group Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Veracyte during the first quarter worth approximately $27,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Veracyte in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Veracyte in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Veracyte by 96.2% in the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,862 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 913 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV purchased a new position in Veracyte in the 4th quarter valued at $54,000.

Veracyte Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of VCYT opened at $19.45 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $22.15 and its 200 day moving average is $23.92. The company has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a PE ratio of -18.88 and a beta of 1.62. Veracyte has a 12-month low of $18.61 and a 12-month high of $30.52.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.03. The business had revenue of $98.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $95.49 million. Veracyte had a negative return on equity of 2.02% and a negative net margin of 20.61%. Equities research analysts predict that Veracyte will post -0.29 earnings per share for the current year.

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.