Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,550,000 shares, a decrease of 14.1% from the November 30th total of 2,970,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 782,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on VCYT shares. Scotiabank boosted 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. Guggenheim initiated coverage on Veracyte in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. Leerink Partners increased their price target on shares of Veracyte from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $37.00 target price (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One equities research 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, Veracyte currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $41.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Jonathan Wygant sold 5,032 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.89, for a total transaction of $215,822.48. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 42,313 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,814,804.57. This represents a 10.63 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John Leite sold 1,050 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.25, for a total transaction of $45,412.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 73,810 shares in the company, valued at $3,192,282.50. This represents a 1.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 14,038 shares of company stock worth $605,297 in the last three months. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of VCYT. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Veracyte by 13.7% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,677 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in Veracyte by 2.1% during the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 16,462 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Veracyte by 21.7% in 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 during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 20,806 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $451,000 after buying an additional 733 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of Veracyte by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 21,823 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $473,000 after buying an additional 1,173 shares during the period.

Veracyte Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of VCYT stock traded down $0.83 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $40.12. 425,887 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 767,829. The company has a market cap of $3.11 billion, a PE ratio of -267.47 and a beta of 1.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $39.16 and a 200 day moving average of $32.00. Veracyte has a 52-week low of $18.61 and a 52-week high of $46.00.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.19 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $115.86 million during 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 28.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Veracyte will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

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.