The Goldman Sachs Group Trims Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) Target Price to $28.00

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) had its target price lowered by research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $32.00 to $28.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the biotechnology company’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target indicates a potential upside of 47.99% from the stock’s current price.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Veracyte from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 26th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Veracyte from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Veracyte in a report on Friday, February 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.00.

Veracyte Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:VCYT opened at $18.92 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.42 billion, a PE ratio of -18.37 and a beta of 1.62. Veracyte has a 52 week low of $18.73 and a 52 week high of $30.52. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $22.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.03.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.07) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $98.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $95.49 million. Veracyte had a negative net margin of 20.61% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Veracyte will post -0.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.65, for a total transaction of $216,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 33,125 shares in the company, valued at $717,156.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Veracyte

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in VCYT. Russell Investments Group Ltd. bought a new stake in Veracyte during the first quarter worth $27,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Veracyte during the first quarter worth $33,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Veracyte during the third quarter worth $38,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Veracyte by 96.2% during the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,862 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 913 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in Veracyte by 533.0% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,146 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,807 shares in the last quarter.

About Veracyte

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.