Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Stock Price Down 7.1% – What’s Next?

Shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) dropped 7.1% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $40.95 and last traded at $40.42. Approximately 322,730 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 59% from the average daily volume of 780,662 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.50.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VCYT has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $37.00 price target (down from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Veracyte in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Veracyte from $44.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.00.

Veracyte Stock Performance

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $42.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -277.07 and a beta of 1.71.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $115.86 million during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.03) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Veracyte

In other news, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $745,429.10. This represents a 35.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John Leite sold 1,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.25, for a total transaction of $45,412.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 73,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. In the last three months, insiders sold 24,565 shares of company stock valued at $1,031,406. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Veracyte

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $554,000. Eventide Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 20.2% during the third quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 677,883 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $23,075,000 after acquiring an additional 113,883 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Veracyte during the third quarter valued at approximately $574,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Veracyte during the third quarter valued at approximately $723,000. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Veracyte during the third quarter valued at approximately $820,000.

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.