Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Given New $28.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) had its price target hoisted by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $26.00 to $28.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “underweight” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would suggest a potential downside of 24.26% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of Veracyte from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. Leerink Partners boosted their target price on shares of Veracyte from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Veracyte in a report on Friday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Veracyte from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.25.

Veracyte Price Performance

NASDAQ:VCYT traded up $1.03 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $36.97. 72,381 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 768,246. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -242.47 and a beta of 1.67. Veracyte has a 52-week low of $18.61 and a 52-week high of $41.43. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $34.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.71.

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

Insider Activity at Veracyte

In other Veracyte news, insider John Leite sold 5,479 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.78, for a total transaction of $163,164.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,268,461.72. This represents a 6.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Evan/ Fa Jones sold 5,173 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.23, for a total transaction of $182,244.79. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,343 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,209,903.89. The trade was a 13.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veracyte

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Veracyte by 3.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,384,871 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $163,649,000 after purchasing an additional 266,660 shares in the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY raised its position in shares of Veracyte by 46.3% in the first quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,115,806 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $24,726,000 after buying an additional 353,000 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 21.2% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 142,604 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,160,000 after buying an additional 24,945 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Veracyte by 21.8% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 87,555 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,897,000 after acquiring an additional 15,647 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co grew its stake in Veracyte by 22.7% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 28,060 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $608,000 after acquiring an additional 5,200 shares in the last quarter.

Veracyte Company Profile

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.