Key Points
- Veracyte CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 18,341 shares on March 4 at an average price of $36.14, generating about $662,844 and reducing her ownership by 12.27%; the sale was disclosed in an SEC filing.
- Veracyte beat expectations this quarter with EPS of $0.53 versus $0.41 expected and revenue of $140.64 million, up 18.5% year-over-year, indicating continued top-line growth.
- Analyst sentiment is mixed: the stock trades around $33.85 with a $2.69 billion market cap and an average target of $45.14, while Morgan Stanley downgraded to "underweight" (target $37) amid several buy/strong-buy ratings from other firms.
Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) insider John Leite sold 5,260 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.19, for a total transaction of $185,099.40. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 107,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,740.20. The trade was a 4.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.
Veracyte Stock Down 2.4%
Shares of NASDAQ:VCYT traded down $0.83 on Friday, hitting $33.85. The company had a trading volume of 964,111 shares, compared to its average volume of 893,715. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $39.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.78 and a beta of 1.91. Veracyte, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.61 and a 1 year high of $50.71.
Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.12. Veracyte had a net margin of 12.83% and a return on equity of 8.05%. The company had revenue of $140.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $135.79 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.06 earnings per share. Veracyte's quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 EPS for the current year.
Analyst Ratings Changes
VCYT has been the subject of several research reports. Zacks Research raised Veracyte from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Veracyte from $48.00 to $37.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised Veracyte from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Veracyte in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Veracyte from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Veracyte has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $45.14.
View Our Latest Research Report on Veracyte
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veracyte
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 18,100 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $762,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 23,158 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $795,000 after buying an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 44,264 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,862,000 after buying an additional 552 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in Veracyte by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 71,095 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,922,000 after buying an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Veracyte by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 7,894 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $332,000 after buying an additional 576 shares during the last quarter.
Veracyte Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
See Also
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from InsiderTrades.com in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].
