Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Stock Price Up 5.8% – Should You Buy?

Shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) rose 5.8% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $51.84 and last traded at $51.9950. Approximately 445,766 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 54% from the average daily volume of 964,218 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.15.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VCYT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 30th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Veracyte in a report on Monday, April 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.57.

Veracyte Trading Up 0.7%

The company has a market cap of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.06 and a beta of 1.98. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $40.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.33.

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

Insider Activity at Veracyte

In other news, 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 137,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,829,062.40. This trade represents a 2.26% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available 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. Also, insider John Leite sold 13,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.07, for a total transaction of $699,728.25. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 132,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,624,511.35. This trade represents a 9.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 202,967 shares of company stock worth $9,881,831. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Veracyte

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Veracyte by 289.9% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 893 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in Veracyte during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Veracyte during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Veracyte by 159.8% during the fourth 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. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Veracyte during the third quarter worth $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.