Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $50.82 and last traded at $47.6820, with a volume of 679 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $48.17.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $37.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Veracyte in a report on Monday, April 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Veracyte from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.57.

Veracyte Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $39.43 and a 200-day moving average of $39.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.42 and a beta of 1.98.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $139.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $130.36 million. Veracyte had a net margin of 16.25% and a return on equity of 9.07%. Veracyte’s revenue was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.31 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.29 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Annie Mcguire sold 10,204 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.02, for a total transaction of $398,160.08. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 143,708 shares in the company, valued at $5,607,486.16. The trade was a 6.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Jonathan Wygant sold 24,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.40, for a total transaction of $1,089,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 45,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,062,703.60. This trade represents a 34.57% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 202,967 shares of company stock worth $9,881,831. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Veracyte

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 23.6% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,324,965 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $45,486,000 after purchasing an additional 253,033 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its stake in Veracyte by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 7,370,467 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $253,028,000 after buying an additional 1,048,692 shares during the period. Westview Management dba Westview Investment Advisors acquired a new position in Veracyte in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,376,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund purchased a new stake in Veracyte in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,384,000. Finally, Iron Triangle Partners LP purchased a new stake in Veracyte in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $16,650,000.

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.