Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Price Target Raised to $51.00

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) had its price objective upped by Needham & Company LLC from $44.00 to $51.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

VCYT has been the subject of several other reports. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com cut Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group lifted their price target on Veracyte from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $37.00 price objective (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.00.

Veracyte Trading Down 1.4 %

VCYT opened at $45.48 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.52 billion, a P/E ratio of -303.20 and a beta of 1.71. Veracyte has a 12-month low of $18.61 and a 12-month high of $47.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $42.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $35.44.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $115.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.81 million. Veracyte had a positive return on equity of 3.02% and a negative net margin of 2.18%. Veracyte’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.03) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Veracyte will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Veracyte

In other news, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.30, for a total value of $403,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,497 shares in the company, valued at $745,429.10. This trade represents a 35.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jonathan Wygant sold 5,032 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.89, for a total value of $215,822.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 42,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,814,804.57. This trade represents a 10.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,038 shares of company stock valued at $1,008,297. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of VCYT. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,916,515 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $99,278,000 after purchasing an additional 7,920 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Veracyte by 1.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,844,713 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $62,806,000 after buying an additional 17,921 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in Veracyte by 116.3% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 833,754 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $33,017,000 after acquiring an additional 448,251 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 785,971 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $31,124,000 after acquiring an additional 3,111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eventide Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 20.2% during the third quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 677,883 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $23,075,000 after acquiring an additional 113,883 shares in the last quarter.

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.