Contrasting Veracyte (VCYT) and Its Peers

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) is one of 844 publicly-traded companies in the “Biotechnology” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its peers? We will compare Veracyte to related businesses based on the strength of its earnings, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Volatility and Risk

Veracyte has a beta of 1.98, indicating that its share price is 98% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Veracyte’s peers have a beta of -1.84, indicating that their average share price is 284% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Veracyte and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Veracyte	21.80%	8.99%	8.34%
Veracyte Competitors	-12,323.33%	-195.91%	-30.60%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Veracyte and its peers gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Veracyte	$517.15 million	$66.35 million	15.60
Veracyte Competitors	$702.34 million	$9.48 million	-18.84

Veracyte’s peers have higher revenue, but lower earnings than Veracyte. Veracyte is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Veracyte and its peers, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Veracyte	1	5	6	0	2.42
Veracyte Competitors	9874	15290	45648	1600	2.54

Veracyte presently has a consensus target price of $44.50, suggesting a potential upside of 84.06%. As a group, “Biotechnology” companies have a potential upside of 126.35%. Given Veracyte’s peers stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Veracyte has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

47.8% of shares of all “Biotechnology” companies are owned by institutional investors. 1.6% of Veracyte shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 13.1% of shares of all “Biotechnology” companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Veracyte peers beat Veracyte on 7 of the 13 factors compared.

Veracyte Company Profile

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.