Brokerages Set Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Price Target at $27.50

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $27.50.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on VCYT. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Veracyte from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on shares of Veracyte from $33.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Veracyte from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 15th.

Veracyte Stock Down 3.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ VCYT opened at $20.97 on Friday. Veracyte has a 52 week low of $18.61 and a 52 week high of $30.52. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $20.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.48. The firm has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -22.31 and a beta of 1.70.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.19) by $0.17. Veracyte had a negative net margin of 18.16% and a negative return on equity of 1.42%. The firm had revenue of $96.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.11) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Veracyte will post -0.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Veracyte

In other Veracyte news, Director Muna Bhanji sold 1,539 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.00, for a total transaction of $32,319.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,975 shares in the company, valued at $566,475. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Veracyte news, Director Karin Eastham sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.97, for a total value of $52,425.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 33,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $694,631.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Muna Bhanji sold 1,539 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.00, for a total transaction of $32,319.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 26,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $566,475. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,909 shares of company stock valued at $379,882. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veracyte

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Veracyte in the 1st quarter valued at about $140,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Veracyte by 105.6% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,368 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $140,000 after purchasing an additional 3,271 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,323 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 1,571 shares during the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN purchased a new position in Veracyte during the fourth quarter worth approximately $205,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP purchased a new position in Veracyte during the fourth quarter worth approximately $220,000.

Veracyte Company Profile

Veracyte, Inc operates as a diagnostics company in the United States and internationally. The company offers Afirma Genomic Sequencing Classifier for cancerous thyroid nodules; Decipher Prostate Biopsy and Radical Prostatectomy for prostate cancer diagnosis; Prosigna Breast Cancer Assay for breast cancer diagnosis; Percepta Nasal Swab Test for lung cancer diagnosis; and Envisia Genomic Classifier for diagnosing interstitial lung disease, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.