Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Given New $51.00 Price Target at Needham & Company LLC

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) had its price objective boosted by Needham & Company LLC from $44.00 to $51.00 in a report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Scotiabank raised their target price on Veracyte from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Veracyte from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Leerink Partners lifted their target price on shares of Veracyte from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.00.

Veracyte Stock Performance

Shares of Veracyte stock opened at $44.54 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $42.13 and a 200 day moving average of $35.21. Veracyte has a 52 week low of $18.61 and a 52 week high of $46.00.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.16. Veracyte had a negative net margin of 2.18% and a positive return on equity of 3.02%. The firm had revenue of $115.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.81 million. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.03) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 28.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Veracyte will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Veracyte

In other Veracyte news, CAO Jonathan Wygant sold 5,032 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.89, for a total value of $215,822.48. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 42,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,814,804.57. This represents a 10.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John Leite sold 1,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.25, for a total value of $45,412.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 73,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,192,282.50. This represents a 1.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 24,038 shares of company stock valued at $1,008,297. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Veracyte

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VCYT. Castleview Partners LLC purchased a new position in Veracyte during the third quarter valued at $87,000. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Veracyte in the third quarter worth approximately $91,000. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Veracyte by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,677 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Veracyte during the 2nd quarter valued at $58,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Veracyte by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,778 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 496 shares during the period.

About Veracyte

Veracyte, Inc engages in the research, development and commercialization of diagnostic products. The firm’s portfolio includes Afirma, Percepta, and Envisia. It intends to treat thyroid cancer, improve lung cancer screening, and clarify the diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The company was founded by Bonnie H.