Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Research Coverage Started at Craig Hallum

Craig Hallum started coverage on shares of Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) in a report published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $45.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on VCYT. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $51.00 price target on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $37.00 price target (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com cut shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Veracyte has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.22.

Veracyte Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VCYT opened at $31.82 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.66. The company has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -212.13 and a beta of 1.80. Veracyte has a 1 year low of $18.61 and a 1 year high of $47.32.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The biotechnology company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $118.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $110.73 million. Veracyte had a negative net margin of 2.18% and a positive return on equity of 3.02%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.39) EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Veracyte will post 0.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Veracyte

In other Veracyte news, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.30, for a total transaction of $403,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,497 shares in the company, valued at approximately $745,429.10. The trade was a 35.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veracyte

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Veracyte by 49.7% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 714 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. acquired a new position in Veracyte during the fourth quarter worth about $64,000. US Bancorp DE raised its position in Veracyte by 57.4% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,774 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in Veracyte by 34.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,909 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in Veracyte by 13.7% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,677 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $91,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the last quarter.

Veracyte Company Profile

Veracyte, Inc engages in the research, development and commercialization of diagnostic products. The firm’s portfolio includes Afirma, Percepta, and Envisia. It intends to treat thyroid cancer, improve lung cancer screening, and clarify the diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The company was founded by Bonnie H.