JPMorgan Chase & Co. Raises Stake in Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 54.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 518,850 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 181,872 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Veracyte were worth $17,812,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the third quarter worth $40,064,000. 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 during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 770.6% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 897,387 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $24,256,000 after acquiring an additional 794,307 shares in the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC purchased a new stake in Veracyte during the 3rd quarter worth $26,348,000. Finally, Soleus Capital Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Veracyte during the 2nd quarter worth $19,338,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John Leite sold 5,260 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.19, for a total value of $185,099.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 107,580 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,785,740.20. This represents a 4.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Annie Mcguire sold 6,658 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.55, for a total value of $236,691.90. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 94,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,366,798.30. This trade represents a 6.57% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 75,782 shares of company stock valued at $2,722,097 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Veracyte Trading Down 0.5%

VCYT opened at $32.79 on Thursday. Veracyte, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.61 and a twelve month high of $50.71. The firm has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.51 and a beta of 1.91. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $36.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.31.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $140.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $135.79 million. Veracyte had a net margin of 12.83% and a return on equity of 8.05%. The firm’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.06 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on VCYT. Wall Street Zen raised Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 27th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Veracyte from $48.00 to $37.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on Veracyte from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.20.

Veracyte Company 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.