Veracyte Stock Plunges 54% as Decipher Prostate Volume Falls Short of Expectations

Veracyte (Nasdaq: VCYT) shares fell 54.3% on Thursday, closing at $24.00 against a previous close of $52.52, while the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) fell 4.41% over the same session. Trading volume ran at about 13.1 times its usual level.

The move followed the company's third-quarter results, which it released in an 8-K filed the evening before, on Nov. 4, along with a press release furnished as an exhibit. Chief executive Marc Stapley said in that release that "Afirma outperformed, while Decipher Prostate volume was below our expectations." The company also cut its 2026 total revenue guidance to $590 million to $593 million, from $590 million to $596 million, and lowered its testing revenue guidance to $571 million to $573 million from $576 million to $582 million.

Decipher Prostate volume and guidance

Total revenue for the quarter rose 15% to $151.8 million, and GAAP net income was $31.5 million. Operating expenses rose to $90.5 million from $68.3 million a year earlier, and non-GAAP operating expenses grew 24%. Income from operations fell to $16.6 million from $22.9 million in the year-earlier quarter.

A $100 million buyback

The same 8-K disclosed a share repurchase program of up to $100 million over one year, to be funded from available cash. The company said the program does not obligate it to buy any specific number of shares.

Analyst view

Needham kept its Buy rating on Veracyte but cut its price target to $46 from $69 before the market open.

The company's cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totaled $370.5 million at Sept. 30, 2026.

The filings did not describe the trading reaction in detail beyond the results and guidance.