Veracyte Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) stock traded lower Thursday after the company reported weaker-than-expected Decipher Prostate test volume despite beating third-quarter earnings and revenue estimates.
The diagnostics company also announced a $100 million share buyback program.
Veracyte Beats Third-Quarter Estimates
Veracyte reported adjusted earnings of 51 cents per share, beating Wall Street’s estimate of 41 cents.
Revenue rose 15% year over year to $151.754 million, topping analysts’ estimate of $147.439 million.
Decipher Prostate Growth Raises Concerns
Total volume rose 15% to 52,744 tests. Testing volume increased 13% to 49,498 tests.
Decipher Prostate volume reached about 29,900 tests, while Afirma volume totaled roughly 19,100 tests. Both grew 12% year over year.
However, Veracyte said during its earnings call that Afirma exceeded expectations while Decipher Prostate fell short.
William Blair analyst Matt Larew warned Thursday that the second straight Decipher volume shortfall could raise fresh concerns about its long-term growth.
Decipher missed internal expectations by about 1,000 tests, following a second-quarter shortfall linked to weaker growth in low-risk patients.
Veracyte also lowered its expected annual Decipher volume growth to 12,000-15,000 tests from roughly 20,000, citing market normalization and competition.
Larew warned that a prolonged slowdown could leave Veracyte’s newer tests struggling to offset weaker Decipher growth.
William Blair maintained its Outperform rating.
CEO Marc Stapley said the company plans to expand its bioinformatics capabilities to strengthen clinical evidence supporting Decipher.
Other Analyst Updates
- Needham maintained its Buy rating but cut its price forecast from $69 to $46.
- Leerink Partners downgraded Veracyte from Outperform to Market Perform and lowered its price forecast from $55 to $35.
Veracyte Narrows 2026 Revenue Forecast
Veracyte narrowed its fiscal 2026 revenue forecast to $590 million-$593 million from $590 million-$596 million.
Wall Street expects $593.894 million, above the company’s revised range.
VCYT Price Action: Veracyte shares were down 54.73% at $23.77 at the time of publication on Thursday. The stock is trading at a new 52-week low, according to Benzinga Pro data.
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