Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT Shares Sold by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC trimmed its position in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 43.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 25,316 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 19,437 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Veracyte were worth $1,066,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VCYT. Champlain Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Veracyte during the third quarter worth $40,064,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its stake in Veracyte by 16.6% during the third quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 7,370,467 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $253,028,000 after purchasing an additional 1,048,692 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in Veracyte by 770.6% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 897,387 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $24,256,000 after purchasing an additional 794,307 shares in the last quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC acquired a new position in Veracyte during the third quarter worth $26,348,000. Finally, Soleus Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in Veracyte during the second quarter worth $19,338,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on VCYT shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Veracyte from $48.00 to $37.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price objective on Veracyte from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Three equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.20.

Veracyte Trading Up 1.6%

Veracyte stock opened at $32.67 on Thursday. Veracyte, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.61 and a twelve month high of $50.71. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.36 and a beta of 1.96.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $140.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $135.79 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.06 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Marc Stapley sold 45,523 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.97, for a total value of $1,637,462.31. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 357,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,861,217.38. This represents a 11.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Annie Mcguire sold 6,658 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 94,706 shares in the company, valued at $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 worth $2,722,097 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.