123,015 Shares in Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT Acquired by EFG International AG

EFG International AG acquired a new stake in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 123,015 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $7,221,000. EFG International AG owned approximately 0.15% of Veracyte as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VCYT. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Veracyte during the second quarter worth $1,216,000. Castleark Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Veracyte in the second quarter worth about $4,230,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Veracyte during the second quarter worth about $50,398,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in Veracyte during the second quarter worth about $2,206,000. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. purchased a new stake in Veracyte during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,965,000.

Veracyte Trading Up 6.2%

Veracyte stock opened at $44.04 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $52.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.72. Veracyte, Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.25 and a 12-month high of $60.91. The stock has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.23 and a beta of 1.95.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.13. Veracyte had a net margin of 20.37% and a return on equity of 9.26%. The company had revenue of $150.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.59 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.44 EPS. Veracyte's revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.32 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on VCYT. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $68.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings lowered Veracyte from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on Veracyte from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Veracyte from $45.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Veracyte from $47.00 to $44.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $54.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John Leite sold 13,975 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.07, for a total value of $699,728.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 132,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,624,511.35. This represents a 9.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP Annie Mcguire sold 3,176 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.76, for a total value of $158,037.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 137,240 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,829,062.40. This trade represents a 2.26% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 162,492 shares of company stock worth $8,151,197. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.

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