Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Price Target Raised to $49.00 at UBS Group

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) had its price target increased by UBS Group from $46.00 to $49.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

VCYT has been the topic of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $37.00 target price (down from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $51.00 price target on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Veracyte from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Veracyte currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.00.

Veracyte Trading Down 15.0 %

Shares of VCYT stock opened at $33.46 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $41.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.60. The stock has a market cap of $2.59 billion, a PE ratio of -223.07 and a beta of 1.71. Veracyte has a 12 month low of $18.61 and a 12 month high of $47.32.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The biotechnology company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $118.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $110.73 million. Veracyte had a negative net margin of 2.18% and a positive return on equity of 3.02%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.39) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Veracyte will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Veracyte news, insider John Leite sold 1,050 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.25, for a total value of $45,412.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 73,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,192,282.50. The trade was a 1.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jonathan Wygant sold 956 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.36, for a total transaction of $41,452.16. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 40,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,746,107.20. This represents a 2.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,533 shares of company stock valued at $815,584 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VCYT. Creative Planning bought a new position in Veracyte during the third quarter valued at approximately $396,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Veracyte by 100.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,781 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 1,395 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Veracyte by 127.6% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 29,455 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,003,000 after acquiring an additional 16,512 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 496 shares during the period. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Veracyte by 64.5% in the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 14,773 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $503,000 after purchasing an additional 5,790 shares in the last quarter.

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.