Insider Selling: Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Director Sells $81,456.80 in Stock

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Director Muna Bhanji sold 1,864 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.70, for a total transaction of $81,456.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 40,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,785,319.80. The trade was a 4.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Muna Bhanji also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, September 1st, Muna Bhanji sold 1,864 shares of Veracyte stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.97, for a total value of $80,096.08.

Veracyte Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of VCYT opened at $46.04 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $43.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.41 and a beta of 1.95. Veracyte, Inc. has a 12-month low of $29.45 and a 12-month high of $60.91.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.13. Veracyte had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 20.37%. The company had revenue of $150.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.59 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.44 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.32 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on Veracyte from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Veracyte from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Stephens decreased their price target on shares of Veracyte from $68.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Veracyte from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 10th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Veracyte from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Veracyte presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.78.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $792,058,000. Congress Asset Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Veracyte in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $89,971,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Veracyte in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $84,078,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Veracyte during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $64,737,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Veracyte during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,398,000.

About Veracyte

Veracyte, Inc is a diagnostics company that develops genomic tests to help physicians diagnose cancer, assess disease risk and guide treatment decisions. Its tests are designed to provide additional molecular information from patient samples, often helping reduce uncertainty and support more personalized care.

The company’s portfolio includes Afirma tests for thyroid nodules, Decipher tests for prostate cancer, Percepta tests for lung cancer and Envisio tests for breast cancer. Veracyte also develops and commercializes additional genomic assays intended for use across various cancer types and clinical settings.

Founded in 2008 and headquartered in South San Francisco, California, Veracyte primarily serves the U.S.