Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on VCYT. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their target price on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $46.14.

Veracyte Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ VCYT opened at $35.15 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $41.37 and a 200-day moving average of $37.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 92.50 and a beta of 1.91. Veracyte has a 12 month low of $22.61 and a 12 month high of $50.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 13,278 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.84, for a total value of $621,941.52. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 109,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,128,792.64. The trade was a 10.81% 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. Also, CEO Marc Stapley sold 7,668 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.09, for a total value of $361,086.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 318,603 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,003,015.27. This trade represents a 2.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 68,299 shares of company stock valued at $3,102,756 over the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veracyte

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Veracyte during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $218,000. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd raised its holdings in Veracyte by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd now owns 154,610 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,509,000 after buying an additional 15,501 shares during the last quarter. Systematic Alpha Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Veracyte during the 4th quarter valued at $240,000. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Veracyte in the 4th quarter worth $58,158,000. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC bought a new stake in Veracyte in the 4th quarter worth $658,000.

About Veracyte

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.