Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) EVP Annie Mcguire Sells 3,176 Shares

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) EVP Annie Mcguire sold 3,176 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.76, for a total transaction of $158,037.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 137,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,829,062.40. This trade represents a 2.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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.

Annie Mcguire also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, May 6th, Annie Mcguire sold 10,204 shares of Veracyte stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.02, for a total transaction of $398,160.08.

Veracyte Price Performance

NASDAQ VCYT traded up $1.25 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $49.94. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,644,973 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,133,651. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $39.01. The stock has a market cap of $3.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.82 and a beta of 1.98. Veracyte, Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.61 and a 52 week high of $50.71.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.18. Veracyte had a net margin of 16.25% and a return on equity of 9.07%. The firm had revenue of $139.07 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $130.36 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.31 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research lowered shares of Veracyte from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $37.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price target on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Veracyte in a report on Monday, April 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.57.

Key Headlines Impacting Veracyte

Here are the key news stories impacting Veracyte this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wolfe Research upgraded Veracyte to “strong-buy,” a fresh bullish signal that can attract momentum and analyst-following investors.
• Positive Sentiment: Veracyte has remained strong since its last earnings report, with the stock up materially over the past month as investors continue to reward its better-than-expected results and growth outlook. Why Is Veracyte (VCYT) Up 18.2% Since Last Earnings Report?
• Positive Sentiment: Recent presentations and ASCO-related updates on OPTIMA and ENZAMET may be supporting confidence in Veracyte’s oncology pipeline and longer-term growth story.
• Neutral Sentiment: Canaccord Genuity reiterated a hold rating, which does not materially change the outlook but suggests some analysts remain cautious. Canaccord Genuity Reaffirms Their Hold Rating on Veracyte (VCYT)
• Neutral Sentiment: Several insiders, including the CEO, CFO, and another executive, sold shares under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans to cover tax withholding tied to equity vesting. While large in dollar value, these sales are typically viewed as routine and not necessarily a sign of deteriorating fundamentals.

Institutional Trading of Veracyte

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake 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. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Veracyte by 159.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the 3rd quarter valued at $56,000.

About Veracyte

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.