Key Points
- Veracyte Director Robert Epstein sold 10,000 shares on May 20 at an average price of $44.01, totaling about $440,100. The sale was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan and reduced his ownership by 16.01%.
- The company recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.52 versus the $0.34 consensus and revenue of $139.07 million, up 21.5% year over year. Analysts still expect full-year EPS of 1.28.
- Wall Street sentiment is mixed: Veracyte has a consensus rating of “Hold” with an average price target of $44.83. Recent analyst actions included both buy ratings from Jefferies and Needham and a downgrade from Zacks Research.
Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) Director Robert Epstein sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.01, for a total transaction of $440,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 52,446 shares in the company, valued at $2,308,148.46. This trade represents a 16.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
Veracyte Price Performance
VCYT opened at $45.03 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $34.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.64. Veracyte, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.61 and a 1-year high of $50.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.31 and a beta of 1.89.
Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.18. Veracyte had a net margin of 16.25% and a return on equity of 9.07%. The business had revenue of $139.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $130.36 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.31 EPS. The business's revenue was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several research firms have recently commented on VCYT. Zacks Research lowered shares of Veracyte from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Monday, April 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $44.83.
Read Our Latest Report on Veracyte
Institutional Trading of Veracyte
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VCYT. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Veracyte by 23.3% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 28,712 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $852,000 after purchasing an additional 5,435 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in Veracyte by 12.2% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 195,793 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $5,805,000 after purchasing an additional 21,330 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 94.7% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 216,909 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $6,431,000 after acquiring an additional 105,499 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 54.1% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 42,762 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,268,000 after acquiring an additional 15,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 32.2% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 48,786 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,319,000 after acquiring an additional 11,889 shares in the last quarter.
Veracyte Company Profile
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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.
Further Reading
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