Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Scotiabank upped 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. Leerink Partners raised their price target on shares of Veracyte from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $37.00 target price (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Veracyte from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.00.

Veracyte Stock Up 2.0 %

NASDAQ VCYT opened at $44.54 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -296.90 and a beta of 1.71. Veracyte has a fifty-two week low of $18.61 and a fifty-two week high of $46.00. The business has a fifty day moving average of $42.13 and a 200-day moving average of $35.21.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 positive return on equity of 3.02% and a negative net margin of 2.18%. Veracyte’s revenue was up 28.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.03) EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Veracyte will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Veracyte

In other news, CAO Jonathan Wygant sold 956 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.36, for a total transaction of $41,452.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 40,270 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,746,107.20. This represents a 2.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.30, for a total transaction of $403,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,497 shares in the company, valued at approximately $745,429.10. This represents a 35.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,038 shares of company stock valued at $1,008,297. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veracyte

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. KBC Group NV increased its stake 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 valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Veracyte by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,778 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 32.9% in the 3rd quarter. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC now owns 4,798 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $163,000 after acquiring an additional 1,189 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 100.6% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,781 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 1,395 shares during the last quarter. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Veracyte by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 16,433 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $651,000 after purchasing an additional 1,660 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.