Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on the stock from $44.00 to $51.00. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the stock. Veracyte traded as high as $46.18 and last traded at $46.56, with a volume of 42960 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $44.44.

Several other analysts have also commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $37.00 price objective (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Veracyte from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on Veracyte in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partners increased their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Veracyte presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Veracyte news, insider John Leite sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 73,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,192,282.50. This represents a 1.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.30, for a total value of $403,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $745,429.10. This trade represents a 35.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 24,038 shares of company stock valued at $1,008,297. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 448,251 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new position in Veracyte in the 3rd quarter valued at $9,498,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Veracyte by 288.6% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 360,871 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $12,284,000 after purchasing an additional 268,000 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 276.4% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 301,652 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $10,268,000 after buying an additional 221,504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Castleark Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Veracyte during the third quarter worth $6,010,000.

Veracyte Stock Down 1.4 %

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $42.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $35.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -303.20 and a beta of 1.71.

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

About Veracyte

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.