Karin Eastham Sells 3,729 Shares of Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Stock

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Director Karin Eastham sold 3,729 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.89, for a total transaction of $197,226.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 15,097 shares in the company, valued at $798,480.33. This represents a 19.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Veracyte Trading Down 0.7%

NASDAQ:VCYT traded down $0.37 on Monday, reaching $53.26. The stock had a trading volume of 954,513 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,005,825. The company has a 50-day moving average of $41.37 and a 200 day moving average of $39.42. The stock has a market cap of $4.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.86 and a beta of 1.98. Veracyte, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.61 and a 12-month high of $54.72.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $139.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $130.36 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.31 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.29 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VCYT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Veracyte from $48.00 to $37.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Zacks Research cut shares of Veracyte from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Veracyte in a report on Monday, April 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Friday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Veracyte has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $47.57.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Veracyte by 289.9% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 893 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in Veracyte in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Veracyte during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 159.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Veracyte during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $56,000.

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.