Veracyte, Inc. (VCYT) Stock Price & How to Invest
Last updated July 2026
Short answer
Veracyte (VCYT) is a profitable genomic diagnostics company whose revenue leans on two entrenched cancer tests, Decipher (prostate) and Afirma (thyroid), so investing in it is a bet on continued double-digit testing growth carrying a premium biotech valuation.
VCYT stock price
As of 2026-09-09, Veracyte, Inc. (VCYT) last closed at $43.86, up 42.3% over the past year. Over the past 52 weeks it has traded between $30.01 and $60.49.
Prices are daily closing prices from Yahoo Finance and may be delayed. For the live quote, check your broker or Veracyte, Inc.'s investor relations page. Walnut is informational, not investment advice.
What does Veracyte, Inc. (VCYT) do?
Veracyte is a US genomic diagnostics company that develops and runs advanced molecular tests used to guide cancer treatment decisions. Its two flagship products drive the business: Decipher, a genomic classifier for prostate cancer, and Afirma, which helps assess indeterminate thyroid nodules to avoid unnecessary surgeries. The company also markets tests in other areas and runs a research platform (Afirma GRID, Decipher studies) built on large proprietary genomic sample databases that act as a competitive moat. Testing revenue is the dominant and fastest-growing part of the mix.
The investment picture is one of a diagnostics company that has crossed into sustained profitability, a relative rarity in the space. Q1 2026 revenue rose roughly 21% year over year to about $139M with GAAP net income of about $29M and an adjusted EBITDA margin near 31%, and management raised full-year guidance. The tradeoff is valuation: the stock carries a P/E in the mid-40s and a market cap around $4.6B, so much of the near-term growth is already priced in, and the concentration in two tests plus reimbursement dependence are the key things to weigh.
What's driving Veracyte, Inc. (VCYT)?
1. Decipher prostate franchise
Decipher is the largest and fastest-growing revenue line, up roughly 30% year over year in Q1 2026 to about $87M in testing revenue. Expanding clinical guideline inclusion and use across more stages of prostate cancer support continued double-digit volume growth.
2. Afirma thyroid dominance
Afirma is used by a large share of US endocrinologists and is close to synonymous with thyroid nodule assessment. It grew about 21% in Q1 2026, and add-on features like the Xpression Atlas extend it toward therapy-selection use cases.
3. Sustained profitability and cash generation
Veracyte has shifted from cash-burning to consistently profitable, with adjusted EBITDA margins near 30% and rising full-year guidance. That self-funding profile lets it invest in new tests and studies without diluting shareholders heavily.
4. Pipeline and new test expansion
The company is investing in new assays (including tissue and blood-based tests) and expanding Decipher and Afirma indications. New-test contributions are framed as upside on top of the mid-teens core testing growth.
What are the risks to Veracyte, Inc. (VCYT)?
Revenue is heavily concentrated in just two tests, so any reimbursement change, coverage denial, or competitive share loss in prostate or thyroid diagnostics would hit results disproportionately. The stock trades at a premium valuation (P/E in the mid-40s), which amplifies downside if growth decelerates or guidance is missed. Medicare and commercial payer decisions drive a large portion of realized revenue, making pricing and coverage a persistent uncertainty. Larger diagnostics rivals such as Exact Sciences, Guardant Health, and Natera have deeper resources and are expanding into overlapping oncology testing areas. New-test launches and international expansion carry execution and regulatory risk.
What is the Veracyte, Inc. (VCYT) forecast?
11 analysts publish price targets on VCYT, averaging $57.82 against a $43.43 price as of September 2026, or +33.1%. The published targets run from $44.00 to $70.00, a moderate spread, and the ratings split 10 buy, 1 hold, 1 sell. Over the last six months there have been 5 raises and 4 cuts among the published actions. A price target is what an analyst published on a date, not a prediction, and sell-side ratings skew positive across the whole market.
Read the full VCYT forecast and price target for the target table, the recent rating actions by firm, and how the consensus has shifted.
Is VCYT a buy or a sell?
We give no verdict on Veracyte, Inc.. Both cases are real, which is why the question is contested at all, so here is the strongest version of each.
The case for buying. Decipher prostate franchise. Decipher is the largest and fastest-growing revenue line, up roughly 30% year over year in Q1 2026 to about $87M in testing revenue. The most optimistic published target, $70.00, assumes this works close to its best case.
The case against. Revenue is heavily concentrated in just two tests, so any reimbursement change, coverage denial, or competitive share loss in prostate or thyroid diagnostics would hit results disproportionately. The most pessimistic target, $44.00, is roughly what VCYT is worth if this bites instead.
Read the full bull and bear case on VCYT, including what would have to change to break either one. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
Has Veracyte, Inc. (VCYT) split its stock?
No. Veracyte, Inc. (VCYT) has not split its stock in the last 10 years. That is a statement about the window we check rather than about the company’s entire history, so an older split is possible. It also matters less than it once did: fractional shares mean a high price per share no longer keeps smaller investors out, which removed most of the practical reason to split.
How is Veracyte, Inc. (VCYT) valued? (approximate, July 2026)
A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see Veracyte, Inc.'s investor relations page or your broker.
- Revenue (TTM): ~$517M
- Q1 2026 revenue: ~$139M (up ~21% YoY)
- Net income (TTM): ~$66M
- 2026 revenue guidance: ~$582M to $592M
- Market cap: ~$4.6B
- P/E (trailing): ~45x
Veracyte is profitable on a GAAP basis with an adjusted EBITDA margin near 31% in Q1 2026, an uncommon profile among growth-stage diagnostics firms. The mid-40s P/E sits well above the broader biotech average, reflecting the market pricing in continued double-digit testing growth. Figures are approximate and drawn from the most recent reported quarter and guidance.
Who competes with Veracyte, Inc. (VCYT)?
Cancer genomic diagnostics
Exact Sciences and Guardant Health are the largest molecular diagnostics peers, with broad oncology test menus and liquid-biopsy franchises that increasingly overlap with Veracyte's oncology positioning.
Precision oncology and MRD testing
Natera and GRAIL compete in genetic testing and minimal residual disease or early-detection assays, areas Veracyte is moving toward as it expands beyond its core tissue-based tests.
Specialty and lab-based diagnostics
NeoGenomics and large reference labs offer overlapping oncology and molecular testing, though they generally lack Veracyte's depth of proprietary thyroid and prostate genomic data.
What stocks are similar to Veracyte, Inc. (VCYT)?
Other names that sit close to VCYT: same theme, named as a direct competitor, or held beside it in the same funds. Each entry says which. Worth a look if you are thinking about diversification within a thesis rather than concentration on one ticker.
How to invest in Veracyte, Inc. (VCYT)
There are three common ways to get VCYT exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it, which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic portfolio, so VCYT sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.
Walnut takes the portfolio route. Describe a thesis where VCYT fits (for example “AI infrastructure” or “dividend-growth large-caps”) and the AI proposes 5 to 6 constituents with target weights. You review the plan and fund it through your own broker when you're ready.
New to this? Start with how to invest in stocks, see how to analyze a stock with AI, or compare the best AI stock analyzers.
The bottom line on Veracyte, Inc. (VCYT)
VCYT is a rare profitable, cash-generative diagnostics name, but its rich multiple leaves little room for a growth stumble in its two core tests.
More on Veracyte, Inc. (VCYT)
Whether VCYT is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, what would have to go right, and the risks in is VCYT a buy or a sell?, and where the stock could go from here in the VCYT stock forecast.
For income investors, whether VCYT pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does VCYT pay a dividend? And to weigh VCYT against a peer, read the full side-by-side comparisons: VCYT vs GH and VCYT vs GRAL.
Wondering how VCYT fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.
Investing in Veracyte, Inc. with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how VCYT fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
What does Veracyte do?
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Veracyte is a genomic diagnostics company that develops and runs molecular tests used to guide cancer treatment decisions. Its main products are Decipher for prostate cancer and Afirma for thyroid nodule assessment.
Is Veracyte profitable?
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Yes. As of Q1 2026 Veracyte reports GAAP net income (about $29M in the quarter) and an adjusted EBITDA margin near 31%, making it one of the more consistently profitable growth-stage diagnostics companies.
What are Veracyte's two main products?
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Decipher, a genomic classifier for prostate cancer, is the largest and fastest-growing test, and Afirma, which assesses indeterminate thyroid nodules to help avoid unnecessary surgery, is the second core franchise.
How fast is Veracyte growing?
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Q1 2026 revenue rose about 21% year over year to roughly $139M, with Decipher up around 30% and Afirma up around 21%. Full-year 2026 guidance implies continued double-digit growth.
Why does VCYT trade at a high valuation?
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The stock carries a trailing P/E in the mid-40s, well above the biotech average, because the market prices in sustained double-digit testing growth plus its unusual combination of growth and profitability.
Who are Veracyte's main competitors?
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Larger diagnostics companies including Exact Sciences and Guardant Health, plus Natera, GRAIL, and NeoGenomics, compete across genomic and oncology testing, though few match Veracyte's depth in thyroid and prostate data.
What are the biggest risks with VCYT?
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Revenue concentration in two tests, dependence on Medicare and commercial payer reimbursement, a premium valuation that punishes any growth miss, and competition from larger, better-resourced diagnostics firms are the primary risks.
How can someone invest in Veracyte?
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VCYT trades on the Nasdaq and can be held directly or grouped into a diagnostics or healthcare theme. Walnut is not an investment adviser, so evaluate concentration, valuation, and reimbursement risk against your own goals before acting.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Financial figures on this page are approximations; always verify current numbers with Veracyte, Inc.'s investor relations page or your broker before making investment decisions.