StockNews.com Downgrades Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) to Hold

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

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on VCYT. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $37.00 price target (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Veracyte from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Veracyte from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.00.

Veracyte Trading Down 4.8 %

NASDAQ VCYT opened at $33.84 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -225.60 and a beta of 1.71. Veracyte has a 12 month low of $18.61 and a 12 month high of $47.32.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The biotechnology company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $118.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $110.73 million. Veracyte had a positive return on equity of 3.02% and a negative net margin of 2.18%. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.39) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Veracyte will post 0.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.23, for a total transaction of $302,610.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 114,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,929,819.51. This trade represents a 5.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $41,452.16. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 40,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,746,107.20. This represents a 2.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,533 shares of company stock worth $815,584. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veracyte

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Veracyte in the 3rd quarter worth about $554,000. Eventide Asset Management LLC boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 113,883 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in Veracyte in the third quarter worth approximately $574,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in Veracyte during the third quarter valued at approximately $820,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Veracyte during the third quarter worth approximately $723,000.

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.