Craig Hallum Initiates Coverage on Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT)

Craig Hallum started coverage on shares of Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) in a research note released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $45.00 price objective on the biotechnology company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of Veracyte in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Veracyte from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $37.00 price objective (down from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.22.

Veracyte Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VCYT opened at $31.82 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a PE ratio of -212.13 and a beta of 1.80. Veracyte has a 12 month low of $18.61 and a 12 month high of $47.32. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.66.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The biotechnology company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.07. Veracyte had a negative net margin of 2.18% and a positive return on equity of 3.02%. The business had revenue of $118.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $110.73 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.39) earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Veracyte will post 0.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Veracyte

In other Veracyte news, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 18,497 shares in the company, valued at $745,429.10. This represents a 35.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Veracyte by 49.7% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 714 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in Veracyte during the 4th quarter valued at $64,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Veracyte by 57.4% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,774 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Veracyte by 34.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,909 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Veracyte by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,677 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during 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.