John Leite Sells 13,975 Shares of Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Stock

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) insider John Leite sold 13,975 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.07, for a total value of $699,728.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 132,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,624,511.35. The trade was a 9.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards.

Veracyte Price Performance

NASDAQ VCYT opened at $48.73 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.89 billion, a PE ratio of 44.71 and a beta of 1.98. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.08. Veracyte, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.61 and a 1-year high of $50.71.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.18. Veracyte had a return on equity of 9.07% and a net margin of 16.25%.The firm had revenue of $139.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $130.36 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on VCYT. UBS Group lifted their target price on Veracyte from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Veracyte in a research note on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Veracyte from $48.00 to $37.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Veracyte from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Veracyte in a research note on Monday, April 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.57.

Trending Headlines about Veracyte

Here are the key news stories impacting Veracyte this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Veracyte has stayed sharply higher since its latest earnings report, suggesting investors are still encouraged by the company’s recent beat on both earnings and revenue and its improved growth outlook. Why Is Veracyte (VCYT) Up 18.2% Since Last Earnings Report?
• Positive Sentiment: The company also highlighted ASCO findings from its OPTIMA and ENZAMET Phase III trials in breast and prostate cancer, which could support Veracyte’s precision-diagnostics growth story. Veracyte, Inc. (VCYT) Discusses ASCO Findings From OPTIMA and ENZAMET Phase III Trials in Breast and Prostate Cancer – Slideshow

Institutional Trading of Veracyte

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in shares of Veracyte by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 18,100 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $762,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Veracyte by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 23,158 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $795,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $1,862,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Veracyte by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 71,095 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,922,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares during the period. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Veracyte by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 7,894 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $332,000 after purchasing an additional 576 shares during the period.

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.