Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $40.95, but opened at $40.06. Veracyte shares last traded at $40.68, with a volume of 28,206 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on VCYT. Leerink Partners lifted their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group lifted 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. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on Veracyte from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Veracyte from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Veracyte from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.13.

Veracyte Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $39.05 and its 200-day moving average is $31.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -266.27 and a beta of 1.69.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.03) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.23, for a total transaction of $302,610.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 114,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,929,819.51. The trade was a 5.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider John Leite sold 1,050 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,038 shares of company stock valued at $605,297. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Veracyte

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Veracyte by 12.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 281,810 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,107,000 after purchasing an additional 31,613 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 18.7% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,065 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 1,740 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Veracyte by 5.7% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 21,823 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $473,000 after acquiring an additional 1,173 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new position in Veracyte in the second quarter worth approximately $85,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Veracyte by 6.7% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 128,774 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,791,000 after purchasing an additional 8,096 shares in the last quarter.

About Veracyte

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.