Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Shares Down 5.8% After Analyst Downgrade

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)’s share price was down 5.8% during mid-day trading on Friday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $49.00 to $42.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Veracyte traded as low as $29.38 and last traded at $29.39. Approximately 395,590 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 55% from the average daily volume of 880,738 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.21.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Craig Hallum started coverage on shares of Veracyte in a report on Thursday, March 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim decreased their price target on Veracyte from $45.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on Veracyte from $51.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Veracyte in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $40.90.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in Veracyte during the fourth quarter valued at about $580,000. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Veracyte by 138.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 146,402 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,983,000 after purchasing an additional 85,033 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Veracyte by 116.3% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 833,754 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $33,017,000 after purchasing an additional 448,251 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Veracyte by 44.6% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,872 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $153,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Veracyte in the fourth quarter worth $1,179,000.

Veracyte Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -195.80 and a beta of 2.14. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.09.

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

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.