Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT – Get Rating) was the target of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,320,000 shares, an increase of 18.6% from the January 31st total of 2,800,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 786,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.2 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James downgraded shares of Veracyte from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 18th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Veracyte in a report on Wednesday, January 4th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $33.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Veracyte from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Veracyte from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Veracyte presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $30.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Veracyte news, Director Bonnie H. Anderson sold 63,247 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.13, for a total value of $1,589,397.11. Following the sale, the director now owns 62,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,582,209.93. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Bonnie H. Anderson sold 34,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.35, for a total value of $895,900.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 62,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,659,022.35. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Bonnie H. Anderson sold 63,247 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.13, for a total transaction of $1,589,397.11. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 62,961 shares in the company, valued at $1,582,209.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 99,937 shares of company stock worth $2,564,142 in the last 90 days. 2.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Veracyte

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Veracyte in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. CI Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Veracyte by 358.8% in the 4th quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 1,991 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 1,557 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Veracyte by 90.3% in the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,596 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 1,232 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in shares of Veracyte by 712.9% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,219 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 2,823 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the 1st quarter worth approximately $73,000.

Veracyte Price Performance

Shares of VCYT stock opened at $24.74 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.78 billion, a P/E ratio of -49.48 and a beta of 1.44. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.96. Veracyte has a one year low of $14.85 and a one year high of $32.40.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 22nd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.05) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.15) by $0.10. The business had revenue of $80.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $74.92 million. Veracyte had a negative net margin of 12.33% and a negative return on equity of 3.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.15) EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Veracyte will post -0.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Veracyte

(Get Rating)

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.