Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Cuts Stake in Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. lowered its stake in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 49.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 89,248 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 87,964 shares during the quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Veracyte were worth $3,064,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of VCYT. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Veracyte in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Veracyte during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Veracyte by 289.9% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 893 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Veracyte by 74.8% during the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,824 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 1,208 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Veracyte in the third quarter worth about $107,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VCYT. Zacks Research upgraded Veracyte from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Veracyte from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.14.

Insider Activity at Veracyte

In related news, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 13,278 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.84, for a total transaction of $621,941.52. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 109,496 shares in the company, valued at $5,128,792.64. This represents a 10.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Annie Mcguire sold 10,739 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total transaction of $463,173.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 67,760 shares in the company, valued at $2,922,488.80. This represents a 13.68% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 54,385 shares of company stock valued at $2,483,179 in the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Veracyte Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ VCYT opened at $35.75 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.73. Veracyte, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.61 and a twelve month high of $50.71. The company has a market capitalization of $2.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 94.08 and a beta of 1.91.

About Veracyte

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.