StockNews.com Begins Coverage on OncoCyte (NASDAQ:OCX)

Investment analysts at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of OncoCyte (NASDAQ:OCX) in a note issued to investors on Monday. The brokerage set a “sell” rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on OCX. Lake Street Capital initiated coverage on shares of OncoCyte in a research report on Friday, March 28th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $5.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $4.25 price target on shares of OncoCyte in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $4.00 price objective on shares of OncoCyte in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, OncoCyte presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $4.56.

OncoCyte Stock Performance

OncoCyte stock opened at $3.00 on Monday. OncoCyte has a one year low of $1.92 and a one year high of $4.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $2.83 and a 200 day moving average of $2.72. The stock has a market cap of $85.80 million, a PE ratio of -0.68 and a beta of 0.79.

OncoCyte (NASDAQ:OCX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 24th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.40) by $0.88. OncoCyte had a negative return on equity of 269.32% and a negative net margin of 6,122.29%. The business had revenue of $1.49 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $0.16 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that OncoCyte will post -2.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Patrick W. Smith bought 1,077,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $2.05 per share, with a total value of $2,209,080.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 2,872,671 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,888,975.55. This represents a 60.03 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrea S. James bought 97,561 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $2.05 per share, with a total value of $200,000.05. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 151,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $310,023.55. This represents a 181.78 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders bought 1,185,625 shares of company stock valued at $2,430,510. Company insiders own 1.58% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of OncoCyte

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of OCX. Broadwood Capital Inc. lifted its position in shares of OncoCyte by 26.7% in the fourth quarter. Broadwood Capital Inc. now owns 6,244,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,862,000 after buying an additional 1,315,339 shares in the last quarter. Pura Vida Investments LLC increased its stake in OncoCyte by 32.1% in the 4th quarter. Pura Vida Investments LLC now owns 654,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,558,000 after acquiring an additional 159,106 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of OncoCyte by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 137,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $326,000 after acquiring an additional 33,089 shares in the last quarter. Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of OncoCyte during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $126,000. Finally, FNY Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of OncoCyte by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 49,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 6,481 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 55.35% of the company’s stock.

OncoCyte Company Profile

OncoCyte Corporation, a precision diagnostics company, focuses on development and commercialization of proprietary tests in the United States and internationally. The company is developing DetermaIO, a gene expression test that assesses the tumor microenvironment to predict response to immunotherapies; DetermaCNI, a blood-based monitoring tool for monitoring therapeutic efficacy in cancer patients; and VitaGraft, a blood-based solid organ transplantation monitoring test.