523,162 Shares in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Bought by Point72 Asset Management L.P.

Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 523,162 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,717,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 32.8% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 25,311 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,002,000 after buying an additional 6,251 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its position in Veracyte by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 1,194,392 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $47,298,000 after purchasing an additional 8,797 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 36.3% during the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 97,809 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,871,000 after acquiring an additional 26,026 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 34,326 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,359,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Veracyte by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 20,057 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $794,000 after purchasing an additional 3,549 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Guggenheim cut their price target on Veracyte from $45.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on Veracyte from $51.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. StockNews.com cut Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Craig Hallum started coverage on Veracyte in a report on Thursday, March 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Veracyte in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Veracyte presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.90.

Veracyte Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of VCYT stock opened at $29.20 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.29 billion, a P/E ratio of -194.67 and a beta of 2.14. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.96. Veracyte, Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.73 and a 1 year high of $47.32.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The biotechnology company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.07. Veracyte had a positive return on equity of 3.02% and a negative net margin of 2.18%. The firm had revenue of $118.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $110.73 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.39) earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 EPS for the current year.

About Veracyte

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.