Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Now Covered by Craig Hallum

Analysts at Craig Hallum assumed coverage on shares of Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) in a note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock. Craig Hallum’s price target suggests a potential upside of 41.42% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $37.00 price objective (down from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.22.

Veracyte Price Performance

VCYT stock opened at $31.82 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.61. The stock has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -212.13 and a beta of 1.80. Veracyte has a 1 year low of $18.61 and a 1 year high of $47.32.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The biotechnology company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.07. Veracyte had a negative net margin of 2.18% and a positive return on equity of 3.02%. The firm had revenue of $118.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $110.73 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.39) EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Veracyte will post 0.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veracyte

In other news, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $745,429.10. This represents a 35.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Veracyte

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 49.7% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 714 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the fourth quarter valued at about $64,000. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 57.4% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,774 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Veracyte by 34.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,909 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 323 shares during 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.