Needham & Company LLC Increases Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Price Target to $37.00

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) had its target price raised by equities researchers at Needham & Company LLC from $31.00 to $37.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target suggests a potential upside of 15.84% from the company’s previous close.

Separately, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Veracyte from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Veracyte presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.25.

Veracyte Stock Performance

VCYT stock opened at $31.94 on Wednesday. Veracyte has a one year low of $18.61 and a one year high of $33.33. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $25.59 and its 200 day moving average is $23.03. The firm has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a PE ratio of -33.98 and a beta of 1.65.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.10. Veracyte had a positive return on equity of 1.52% and a negative net margin of 13.52%. The firm had revenue of $114.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $100.27 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.12) EPS. Veracyte’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Veracyte will post 0.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Veracyte news, Director Evan/ Fa Jones sold 20,457 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total transaction of $658,715.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 34,343 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,105,844.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Karin Eastham sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.97, for a total transaction of $52,425.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 33,125 shares in the company, valued at $694,631.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Evan/ Fa Jones sold 20,457 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total transaction of $658,715.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 34,343 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,105,844.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 41,636 shares of company stock worth $1,185,195. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in Veracyte by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 20,141 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $554,000 after buying an additional 711 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 102.2% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 84,808 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,333,000 after purchasing an additional 42,866 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Veracyte by 24.9% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 71,259 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,960,000 after purchasing an additional 14,219 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Veracyte during the fourth quarter worth about $264,000. Finally, M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in Veracyte by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 34,588 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $951,000 after purchasing an additional 5,496 shares during the period.

Veracyte Company Profile

Veracyte, Inc operates as a diagnostics company in the United States and internationally. The company offers Afirma Genomic Sequencing Classifier for cancerous thyroid nodules; Decipher Prostate Biopsy and Radical Prostatectomy for prostate cancer diagnosis; Prosigna Breast Cancer Assay for breast cancer diagnosis; Percepta Nasal Swab Test for lung cancer diagnosis; and Envisia Genomic Classifier for diagnosing interstitial lung disease, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.