Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Shares Sold by Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP

Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP cut its position in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 31.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,129 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 7,937 shares during the period. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP’s holdings in Veracyte were worth $678,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Veracyte by 49.7% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 714 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in Veracyte by 57.4% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,774 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Veracyte by 34.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,909 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Veracyte in the 4th quarter valued at about $91,000. Finally, Bellevue Group AG acquired a new position in shares of Veracyte during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $123,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on VCYT. StockNews.com downgraded Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Craig Hallum initiated coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $51.00 price target on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Veracyte from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Veracyte in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Veracyte currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.22.

Insider Activity

In other Veracyte news, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.30, for a total value of $403,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $745,429.10. This trade represents a 35.09 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Veracyte Stock Down 0.1 %

VCYT opened at $31.82 on Monday. Veracyte, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.61 and a 52 week high of $47.32. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.72. The firm has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -212.13 and a beta of 1.80.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The biotechnology company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $118.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $110.73 million. Veracyte had a positive return on equity of 3.02% and a negative net margin of 2.18%. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.39) EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Veracyte Profile

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.