Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT Stock Holdings Lifted by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 23.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,324,965 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 253,033 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 1.68% of Veracyte worth $45,486,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lifted its position in shares of Veracyte by 34.8% in the third quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 409,601 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $14,062,000 after buying an additional 105,721 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 667.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 435,761 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $14,960,000 after acquiring an additional 379,014 shares during the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 178.4% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 37,118 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,003,000 after acquiring an additional 23,785 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of Veracyte by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 7,370,467 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $253,028,000 after acquiring an additional 1,048,692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund bought a new position in shares of Veracyte in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,384,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Guggenheim upped their target price on Veracyte from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 27th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $37.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Zacks Research raised shares of Veracyte from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Veracyte from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $45.14.

Insider Transactions at Veracyte

In related news, SVP Annie Mcguire sold 10,739 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total value of $463,173.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 67,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,922,488.80. This trade represents a 13.68% 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 hyperlink. Also, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 18,341 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.14, for a total transaction of $662,843.74. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 131,196 shares in the company, valued at $4,741,423.44. This represents a 12.27% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 86,521 shares of company stock valued at $3,185,270. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Veracyte Stock Down 1.0%

VCYT stock opened at $32.46 on Thursday. Veracyte, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.61 and a twelve month high of $50.71. The company has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a PE ratio of 39.11 and a beta of 1.91. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.14.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.12. Veracyte had a return on equity of 8.05% and a net margin of 12.83%.The company had revenue of $140.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $135.79 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.06 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 EPS for the current year.

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.