Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Price Target Cut to $40.00 by Analysts at Stephens

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) had its price objective dropped by Stephens from $55.00 to $40.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Stephens‘s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 66.25% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms also recently commented on VCYT. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on Veracyte from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Veracyte from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Veracyte from $54.00 to $30.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Veracyte from $47.00 to $44.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut shares of Veracyte from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.50.

Veracyte Stock Performance

VCYT opened at $24.06 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.68. Veracyte has a 52-week low of $21.91 and a 52-week high of $60.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.93 billion, a PE ratio of 15.52 and a beta of 1.98.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The biotechnology company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $151.75 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $147.13 million. Veracyte had a return on equity of 8.99% and a net margin of 21.80%. The business’s revenue was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.51 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Veracyte will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Veracyte news, Director Jens Holstein sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $375,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 27,471 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,373,550. The trade was a 21.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider John Leite sold 4,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total value of $160,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 124,329 shares in the company, valued at $4,973,160. This represents a 3.13% decrease in their position. 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 quarter, insiders have sold 62,609 shares of company stock valued at $2,858,904. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veracyte

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VCYT. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Veracyte by 21.2% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,121 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC increased its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 3.6% in the third quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 6,511 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 178.0% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 845 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its position in shares of Veracyte by 1.3% in the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 52,765 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,429,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares during the period. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new position in shares of Veracyte in the third quarter valued at about $34,000.

About Veracyte

Veracyte, Inc. is a genomic diagnostics company that develops tests to help clinicians diagnose disease and guide treatment decisions, with a focus on cancer and other complex conditions. Its tests analyze biological samples to provide information that can help distinguish between conditions and assess disease risk. The company’s portfolio includes Afirma for thyroid nodule assessment, Decipher for prostate cancer, Prosigna for breast cancer, and Percepta for lung cancer. Veracyte also offers Envisia, a genomic test that supports the diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and other forms of interstitial lung disease.