Analysts Set Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Target Price at $29.00

Shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $29.00.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on VCYT shares. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Veracyte from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Veracyte from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Veracyte from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 15th.

Veracyte Stock Up 2.1 %

NASDAQ:VCYT opened at $19.85 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -19.27 and a beta of 1.62. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.95. Veracyte has a twelve month low of $18.61 and a twelve month high of $30.52.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.03. Veracyte had a negative net margin of 20.61% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. The firm had revenue of $98.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $95.49 million. On average, analysts expect that Veracyte will post -0.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Veracyte

In other news, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.65, for a total value of $216,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 33,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $717,156.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 2.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veracyte

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Veracyte in the 3rd quarter valued at $9,324,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Veracyte in the 4th quarter valued at $11,190,000. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc acquired a new position in shares of Veracyte in the 4th quarter valued at $9,586,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 38.0% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 982,328 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $21,935,000 after purchasing an additional 270,531 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 3,347,436 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $74,179,000 after purchasing an additional 242,760 shares during the last quarter.

Veracyte Company Profile

Veracyte, Inc operates as a diagnostics company in the United States and internationally. The company offers Afirma Genomic Sequencing Classifier for cancerous thyroid nodules; Decipher Prostate Biopsy and Radical Prostatectomy for prostate cancer diagnosis; Prosigna Breast Cancer Assay for breast cancer diagnosis; Percepta Nasal Swab Test for lung cancer diagnosis; and Envisia Genomic Classifier for diagnosing interstitial lung disease, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.