Rafferty Asset Management LLC Reduces Position in Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT

Rafferty Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 94,515 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 14,307 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Veracyte were worth $3,245,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VCYT. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 1.8% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 23,158 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $795,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Veracyte by 0.8% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 71,095 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,922,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey boosted its holdings in Veracyte by 4.6% in the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 17,991 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $486,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Veracyte by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 22,732 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $614,000 after purchasing an additional 865 shares during the period. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Veracyte by 289.9% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 893 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Veracyte news, insider John Leite sold 1,278 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.51, for a total transaction of $60,717.78. Following the sale, the insider owned 82,113 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,901,188.63. This trade represents a 1.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Stapley sold 7,668 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.09, for a total transaction of $361,086.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 318,603 shares in the company, valued at $15,003,015.27. This represents a 2.35% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 54,385 shares of company stock worth $2,483,179 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Veracyte Stock Performance

NASDAQ VCYT opened at $35.08 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $39.55 and its 200 day moving average is $38.03. Veracyte, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.61 and a fifty-two week high of $50.71. The company has a market capitalization of $2.79 billion, a PE ratio of 42.27 and a beta of 1.91.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Veracyte from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 27th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. One 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.71.

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.