Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Given Buy Rating at Guggenheim

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT)‘s stock had its “buy” rating restated by equities researchers at Guggenheim in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $45.00 target price on the biotechnology company’s stock. Guggenheim’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 31.52% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research started coverage on Veracyte in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $51.00 price objective on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Veracyte from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on Veracyte from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.00.

Veracyte Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VCYT traded down $5.14 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $34.22. 832,423 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 791,749. Veracyte has a 1 year low of $18.61 and a 1 year high of $47.32. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.60. The firm has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -227.90 and a beta of 1.71.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Jonathan Wygant sold 5,032 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.89, for a total transaction of $215,822.48. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 42,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,814,804.57. The trade was a 10.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.30, for a total transaction of $403,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $745,429.10. The trade was a 35.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,565 shares of company stock worth $1,031,406 in the last quarter. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veracyte

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Veracyte by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 6,599,264 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $261,331,000 after purchasing an additional 1,576,432 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Veracyte by 768.9% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 956,577 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $37,880,000 after buying an additional 846,487 shares in the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 226.8% during the 4th quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 1,183,766 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $46,877,000 after acquiring an additional 821,554 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Veracyte during the 4th quarter valued at about $20,717,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Veracyte by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,211,612 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $325,180,000 after acquiring an additional 463,098 shares during the period.

About Veracyte

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.