Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Price Target Increased to $40.00 by Analysts at Leerink Partners

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) had its price target lifted by equities researchers at Leerink Partners from $35.00 to $40.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Leerink Partners’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 16.41% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on VCYT. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Veracyte from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Veracyte in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $43.00 target price for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on Veracyte from $31.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Veracyte has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $35.67.

Veracyte Stock Performance

Veracyte stock traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $34.36. 75,965 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 763,691. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.32. Veracyte has a twelve month low of $18.61 and a twelve month high of $35.51. The firm has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a PE ratio of -36.55 and a beta of 1.67.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $114.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $100.27 million. Veracyte had a positive return on equity of 1.52% and a negative net margin of 13.52%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.12) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Veracyte will post 0.16 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jens Holstein sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total value of $145,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 27,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $808,462. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Evan/ Fa Jones sold 20,457 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total value of $658,715.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 34,343 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,105,844.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jens Holstein sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.00, for a total transaction of $145,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 27,878 shares in the company, valued at $808,462. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 37,141 shares of company stock worth $1,180,116 over the last 90 days. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Veracyte

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Veracyte by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,384,871 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $163,649,000 after acquiring an additional 266,660 shares during the last quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. increased its stake in Veracyte by 7.8% in the first quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 3,347,436 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $74,012,000 after purchasing an additional 242,760 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Veracyte by 7.8% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 3,347,436 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $74,179,000 after purchasing an additional 242,760 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Veracyte by 23.3% during the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,697,600 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $59,779,000 after buying an additional 509,340 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Veracyte by 67.4% in the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,241,671 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $26,907,000 after buying an additional 500,020 shares during the last quarter.

About Veracyte

Veracyte, Inc operates as a diagnostics company in the United States and internationally. The company offers Afirma Genomic Sequencing Classifier for cancerous thyroid nodules; Decipher Prostate Biopsy and Radical Prostatectomy for prostate cancer diagnosis; Prosigna Breast Cancer Assay for breast cancer diagnosis; Percepta Nasal Swab Test for lung cancer diagnosis; and Envisia Genomic Classifier for diagnosing interstitial lung disease, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.