Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT Shares Acquired by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 667.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 435,761 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 379,014 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Veracyte were worth $14,960,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in Veracyte by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 23,158 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $795,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in Veracyte by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 71,095 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,922,000 after acquiring an additional 566 shares during the period. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey boosted its position in shares of Veracyte by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 17,991 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $486,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Veracyte by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 22,732 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $614,000 after acquiring an additional 865 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Huntleigh Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 4.2% in the second quarter. Huntleigh Advisors Inc. now owns 21,809 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 876 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research cut shares of Veracyte from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Veracyte from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Veracyte presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.14.

Veracyte Stock Performance

Veracyte stock opened at $36.73 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a PE ratio of 96.66 and a beta of 1.91. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $42.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.94. Veracyte, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.61 and a twelve month high of $50.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Veracyte news, CEO Marc Stapley sold 7,668 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.09, for a total transaction of $361,086.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 318,603 shares in the company, valued at $15,003,015.27. This trade represents a 2.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 13,278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.84, for a total value of $621,941.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 109,496 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,128,792.64. The trade was a 10.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 68,299 shares of company stock worth $3,102,756 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Veracyte Profile

Veracyte, Inc is a genomic diagnostics company focused on improving diagnostic accuracy and patient care through advanced molecular testing. Founded in 2008 and headquartered in South San Francisco, California, the company develops and commercializes minimally invasive genomic tests that aid in the diagnosis of thyroid, lung and other diseases. Veracyte’s proprietary platform analyzes gene expression patterns in clinical samples to help physicians make more informed treatment decisions, reducing unnecessary surgeries and improving patient outcomes.

The company’s flagship product, the Afirma Genomic Sequencing Classifier, is designed to assess thyroid nodules with indeterminate cytology, helping clinicians distinguish benign from suspicious nodules.