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

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) had its price objective raised by Morgan Stanley from $26.00 to $28.00 in a research note published on Monday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an underweight rating on the biotechnology company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on VCYT. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Veracyte from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Leerink Partners lifted their price objective on Veracyte from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Veracyte in a report on Thursday, October 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Veracyte in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.25.

Veracyte Price Performance

NASDAQ:VCYT opened at $39.20 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -260.47 and a beta of 1.67. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $27.96. Veracyte has a one year low of $18.61 and a one year high of $41.43.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.19 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $115.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.81 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.03) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Veracyte will post 0.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Veracyte

In related news, Director Evan/ Fa Jones sold 5,173 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.23, for a total value of $182,244.79. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,343 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,209,903.89. This trade represents a 13.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John Leite sold 5,479 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.78, for a total transaction of $163,164.62. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 76,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,268,461.72. This represents a 6.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Veracyte

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Veracyte by 2,331.6% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,386 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,329 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its position in Veracyte by 168.3% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 951 shares during the period. Castleview Partners LLC purchased a new position in Veracyte in the third quarter valued at about $87,000. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Veracyte during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $91,000. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Veracyte by 13.7% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,677 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter.

Veracyte Company Profile

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.