Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Trading Down 7.1% – What’s Next?

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) shares were down 7.1% on Friday . The company traded as low as $40.95 and last traded at $40.42. Approximately 322,730 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 59% from the average daily volume of 780,662 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.50.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on VCYT shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Veracyte from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of Veracyte from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Leerink Partners upped their target price on shares of Veracyte from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Veracyte in a report on Thursday, October 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Veracyte currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.00.

Veracyte Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -277.07 and a beta of 1.71. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.99.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $115.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.81 million. Veracyte had a negative net margin of 2.18% and a positive return on equity of 3.02%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 28.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.03) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Veracyte news, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 18,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $745,429.10. This trade represents a 35.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Leite sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.25, for a total transaction of $45,412.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 73,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,192,282.50. The trade was a 1.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,565 shares of company stock valued at $1,031,406 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veracyte

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of Veracyte by 49.7% in 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 in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in Veracyte by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 22,276 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $882,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Veracyte by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,677 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Veracyte by 34.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,909 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Veracyte by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,778 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares in 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.