Morgan Stanley Increases Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Price Target to $28.00

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Free Report) had its price target raised by Morgan Stanley from $26.00 to $28.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an underweight rating on the biotechnology company's stock.

VCYT has been the topic of several other research reports. Leerink Partners increased their target price on Veracyte from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Veracyte from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Veracyte from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group raised their price target on Veracyte from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $41.25.

Veracyte Trading Up 2.1 %

Veracyte stock traded up $0.77 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $36.71. The stock had a trading volume of 804,488 shares, compared to its average volume of 771,651. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $27.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a PE ratio of -242.47 and a beta of 1.67. Veracyte has a 12 month low of $18.61 and a 12 month high of $41.43.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $115.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.81 million. Veracyte had a positive return on equity of 3.02% and a negative net margin of 2.18%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 28.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.03) earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Veracyte will post 0.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Veracyte

In other Veracyte news, Director Evan/ Fa Jones sold 5,173 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.23, for a total value of $182,244.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,343 shares in the company, valued at $1,209,903.89. This trade represents a 13.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider John Leite sold 5,479 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.78, for a total value of $163,164.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 76,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,268,461.72. This represents a 6.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Veracyte by 2,331.6% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,386 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,329 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 168.3% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 951 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Veracyte during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $58,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Veracyte during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $83,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Veracyte during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $85,000.

About Veracyte

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.