Insider Selling: Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Director Sells $403,000.00 in Stock

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.30, for a total transaction of $403,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $745,429.10. The trade was a 35.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Veracyte Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of Veracyte stock opened at $43.78 on Thursday. Veracyte, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.61 and a 52 week high of $46.00. The company has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a PE ratio of -291.87 and a beta of 1.71. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $40.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.96.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.16. Veracyte had a negative net margin of 2.18% and a positive return on equity of 3.02%. The firm had revenue of $115.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.81 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.03) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Veracyte

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of VCYT. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Veracyte by 13.7% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,677 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Veracyte by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 16,462 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Veracyte by 21.7% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,778 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 496 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 3.7% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 20,806 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $451,000 after acquiring an additional 733 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtus Fund Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Veracyte by 32.9% in the third quarter. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC now owns 4,798 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $163,000 after acquiring an additional 1,189 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VCYT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on Veracyte from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Veracyte from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on Veracyte in a report on Thursday, October 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partners lifted their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.13.

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.