Needham & Company LLC Reiterates “Buy” Rating for Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT)

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by Needham & Company LLC in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $51.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price suggests a potential upside of 43.54% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on VCYT. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $37.00 target price (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Veracyte from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Veracyte from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Veracyte currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.00.

Veracyte Trading Up 6.2 %

Shares of VCYT opened at $35.53 on Tuesday. Veracyte has a 12-month low of $18.61 and a 12-month high of $47.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a P/E ratio of -236.87 and a beta of 1.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $41.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.63.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 analysts’ expectations of $110.73 million. Veracyte had a negative net margin of 2.18% and a positive return on equity of 3.02%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.39) EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Veracyte will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Veracyte

In related news, CAO Jonathan Wygant sold 956 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.36, for a total transaction of $41,452.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 40,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,746,107.20. The trade was a 2.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Leite sold 1,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.25, for a total value of $45,412.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 73,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,192,282.50. This trade represents a 1.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,533 shares of company stock valued at $815,584. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veracyte

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the 4th quarter valued at $64,000. Palisades Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Veracyte in the fourth quarter valued at $6,487,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Veracyte by 20.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 174,463 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,909,000 after buying an additional 30,059 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Veracyte during the 4th quarter worth about $364,000. Finally, State of Wyoming boosted its position in shares of Veracyte by 237.5% during the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 9,682 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $383,000 after acquiring an additional 6,813 shares in 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.