Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Sets New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $54.72 and last traded at $53.19, with a volume of 954513 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.63.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on VCYT. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Veracyte from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $37.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Veracyte in a report on Monday, April 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim cut their target price on shares of Veracyte from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Veracyte in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Veracyte currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.57.

Veracyte Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $41.81 and a 200-day moving average of $39.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.80 and a beta of 1.98.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $139.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $130.36 million. Veracyte had a net margin of 16.25% and a return on equity of 9.07%. The business’s revenue was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.31 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Veracyte

In other Veracyte news, CEO Marc Stapley sold 138,051 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.12, for a total value of $6,919,116.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 440,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,077,559.28. This trade represents a 23.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, Director Karin Eastham sold 3,729 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.89, for a total value of $197,226.81. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 15,097 shares in the company, valued at approximately $798,480.33. This trade represents a 19.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 206,696 shares of company stock worth $10,079,058. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veracyte

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in VCYT. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Veracyte during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 159.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 289.9% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 893 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 146.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,454 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 864 shares in the last quarter.

Veracyte Company Profile

Veracyte, Inc is a genomic diagnostics company focused on improving diagnostic accuracy and patient care through advanced molecular testing. Founded in 2008 and headquartered in South San Francisco, California, the company develops and commercializes minimally invasive genomic tests that aid in the diagnosis of thyroid, lung and other diseases. Veracyte’s proprietary platform analyzes gene expression patterns in clinical samples to help physicians make more informed treatment decisions, reducing unnecessary surgeries and improving patient outcomes.

The company’s flagship product, the Afirma Genomic Sequencing Classifier, is designed to assess thyroid nodules with indeterminate cytology, helping clinicians distinguish benign from suspicious nodules.