Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Coverage Initiated at Jefferies Financial Group

Equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price target on the biotechnology company’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 44.74% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $37.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 price objective on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Zacks Research cut shares of Veracyte from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.33.

Veracyte Price Performance

Shares of VCYT stock opened at $31.09 on Monday. Veracyte has a 1 year low of $22.61 and a 1 year high of $50.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $34.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.30. The company has a market cap of $2.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.46 and a beta of 1.96.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.12. Veracyte had a net margin of 12.83% and a return on equity of 8.05%. The firm had revenue of $140.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $135.79 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.06 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Veracyte will post 0.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John Leite sold 5,260 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.19, for a total transaction of $185,099.40. Following the transaction, the insider owned 107,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,740.20. The trade was a 4.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 18,341 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.14, for a total transaction of $662,843.74. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 131,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,741,423.44. This trade represents a 12.27% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 75,782 shares of company stock worth $2,722,097 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Veracyte

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in Veracyte by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 18,100 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $762,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Veracyte by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 23,158 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $795,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in Veracyte by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 44,264 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,862,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Veracyte by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 71,095 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,922,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Veracyte by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 7,894 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $332,000 after purchasing an additional 576 shares in the last quarter.

Veracyte Company Profile

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.