Guggenheim Initiates Coverage on Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT)

Equities researchers at Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock. Guggenheim’s target price indicates a potential upside of 17.58% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Veracyte from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Veracyte from $31.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Veracyte has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.75.

Veracyte Trading Up 5.4 %

NASDAQ VCYT opened at $34.02 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -45.36 and a beta of 1.67. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $31.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.95. Veracyte has a 1 year low of $18.61 and a 1 year high of $35.51.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.10. Veracyte had a negative net margin of 13.52% and a positive return on equity of 1.52%. The company had revenue of $114.43 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $100.27 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.12) EPS. Veracyte’s quarterly revenue was up 26.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Veracyte will post 0.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Evan/ Fa Jones sold 5,173 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.23, for a total transaction of $182,244.79. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 34,343 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,209,903.89. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Veracyte news, Director Karin Eastham sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $187,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 33,228 shares in the company, valued at $830,700. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Evan/ Fa Jones sold 5,173 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.23, for a total transaction of $182,244.79. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 34,343 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,209,903.89. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 45,918 shares of company stock valued at $1,399,541. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veracyte

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VCYT. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Veracyte during the 2nd quarter valued at $12,279,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Veracyte by 23.3% in the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,697,600 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $59,779,000 after purchasing an additional 509,340 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Veracyte by 67.4% during the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,241,671 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $26,907,000 after purchasing an additional 500,020 shares during the period. Bamco Inc. NY grew its stake in Veracyte by 46.3% during the first quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,115,806 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $24,726,000 after buying an additional 353,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Veracyte by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,384,871 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $163,649,000 after buying an additional 266,660 shares during the period.

About Veracyte

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.