Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Monday morning.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on VCYT. Leerink Partners upped their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Scotiabank upped their target price on Veracyte from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Veracyte from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.00.

Veracyte Stock Performance

Shares of VCYT opened at $40.38 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -269.20 and a beta of 1.71. Veracyte has a fifty-two week low of $18.61 and a fifty-two week high of $47.32. The business has a 50-day moving average of $42.42 and a 200 day moving average of $36.55.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Veracyte news, CAO Jonathan Wygant sold 956 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 40,270 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,746,107.20. This represents a 2.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 value of $45,412.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 73,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,192,282.50. The trade was a 1.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,565 shares of company stock valued at $1,031,406 over the last quarter. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veracyte

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Veracyte during the third quarter valued at $554,000. Eventide Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Veracyte by 20.2% in the third quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 677,883 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $23,075,000 after purchasing an additional 113,883 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in Veracyte in the third quarter worth about $574,000. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Veracyte in the third quarter worth about $723,000. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Veracyte during the 3rd quarter valued at about $820,000.

About Veracyte

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.