Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Receives Overweight Rating from Stephens

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "overweight" rating reissued by equities research analysts at Stephens in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $45.00 target price on the biotechnology company's stock. Stephens' price target would suggest a potential upside of 49.40% from the stock's previous close.

VCYT has been the topic of several other research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Veracyte from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Veracyte from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Craig Hallum began coverage on Veracyte in a report on Thursday, March 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $37.00 target price (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.40.

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Veracyte Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of VCYT traded down $0.98 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $30.12. The company had a trading volume of 710,014 shares, compared to its average volume of 835,914. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.75. Veracyte has a 12-month low of $18.61 and a 12-month high of $47.32. The company has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -200.80 and a beta of 1.80.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The biotechnology company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $118.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $110.73 million. Veracyte had a negative net margin of 2.18% and a positive return on equity of 3.02%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.39) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Veracyte will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Veracyte news, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Veracyte

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Veracyte during the 3rd quarter valued at about $554,000. Eventide Asset Management LLC increased its position in Veracyte by 20.2% during the third quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 677,883 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $23,075,000 after buying an additional 113,883 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in Veracyte during the third quarter valued at about $574,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Veracyte during the 3rd quarter worth about $820,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Veracyte during the 3rd quarter valued at about $723,000.

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.