Needham & Company LLC Issues Positive Forecast for Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Stock Price

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by equities researchers at Needham & Company LLC from $44.00 to $51.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the biotechnology company's stock. Needham & Company LLC's price target suggests a potential upside of 12.14% from the company's previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on VCYT. Guggenheim assumed coverage on Veracyte in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. Leerink Partners lifted their target price on Veracyte from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Veracyte from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $37.00 price objective (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $42.00.

Veracyte Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of VCYT traded down $0.66 on Wednesday, reaching $45.48. The stock had a trading volume of 680,820 shares, compared to its average volume of 735,660. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $42.39 and a 200 day moving average of $35.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.52 billion, a PE ratio of -303.20 and a beta of 1.71. Veracyte has a twelve month low of $18.61 and a twelve month high of $47.32.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $115.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.81 million. Veracyte had a negative net margin of 2.18% and a positive return on equity of 3.02%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 28.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.03) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Veracyte will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Veracyte

In other Veracyte news, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.30, for a total value of $403,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,497 shares in the company, valued at $745,429.10. This represents a 35.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 7,000 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.23, for a total transaction of $302,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 114,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,929,819.51. This trade represents a 5.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 24,038 shares of company stock valued at $1,008,297. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veracyte

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VCYT. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Veracyte by 13.7% in the third 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 during the period. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 34.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,909 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings 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 worth $94,000 after buying an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 123,324 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $4,884,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtus Fund Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 32.9% during the third quarter. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC now owns 4,798 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189 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.