Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Short Interest Down 14.1% in December

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,550,000 shares, a decrease of 14.1% from the November 30th total of 2,970,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 782,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on VCYT shares. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Veracyte from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Guggenheim started coverage on Veracyte in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Veracyte from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $37.00 price target (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 7,000 shares of Veracyte 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,929,819.51. The trade was a 5.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John Leite sold 1,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.25, for a total transaction of $45,412.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 73,810 shares in the company, valued at $3,192,282.50. This represents a 1.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 14,038 shares of company stock valued at $605,297. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Veracyte by 13.7% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,677 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its position in Veracyte by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 16,462 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Veracyte by 21.7% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,778 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 3.7% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 20,806 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $451,000 after buying an additional 733 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its position in shares of Veracyte by 5.7% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 21,823 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $473,000 after buying an additional 1,173 shares during the period.

Veracyte Price Performance

Veracyte stock opened at $40.12 on Monday. Veracyte has a 12 month low of $18.61 and a 12 month high of $46.00. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $39.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.00. The company has a market cap of $3.11 billion, a PE ratio of -267.47 and a beta of 1.69.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.16. Veracyte had a negative net margin of 2.18% and a positive return on equity of 3.02%. The business had revenue of $115.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.81 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.03) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 28.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Veracyte will post 0.38 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.