Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Now Covered by Craig Hallum

Craig Hallum started coverage on shares of Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) in a report issued on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $45.00 target price on the biotechnology company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $37.00 target price (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Veracyte from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $51.00 target price on shares of Veracyte in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.22.

Veracyte Stock Up 0.2 %

NASDAQ VCYT opened at $31.84 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.61. The company has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -212.27 and a beta of 1.80. Veracyte has a twelve month low of $18.61 and a twelve month high of $47.32.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its 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 company had revenue of $118.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 in the prior year, the business posted ($0.39) EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Veracyte will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veracyte

In other news, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.30, for a total transaction of $403,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $745,429.10. The trade was a 35.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veracyte

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Veracyte by 13.7% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,677 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC purchased a new stake in Veracyte in the third quarter valued at about $252,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its stake in Veracyte by 19.0% in the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 444,299 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $15,124,000 after buying an additional 71,086 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in Veracyte by 288.6% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 360,871 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $12,284,000 after buying an additional 268,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Veracyte in the third quarter valued at about $723,000.

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.