125,000 Shares in Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT Acquired by Ardsley Advisory Partners LP

Key Points

• Ardsley Advisory Partners LP bought a new stake in Veracyte during the fourth quarter, purchasing 125,000 shares valued at about $5.26 million.
• Veracyte reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings, posting $0.52 EPS versus $0.34 expected and revenue of $139.07 million, up 21.5% year over year.
• Analysts remain generally positive on the stock, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.57, while the shares recently traded near $51.29.

Ardsley Advisory Partners LP purchased a new position in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 125,000 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $5,262,000. Ardsley Advisory Partners LP owned 0.16% of Veracyte at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VCYT. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in Veracyte in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Veracyte in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Veracyte by 159.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 679 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Veracyte by 289.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Veracyte by 146.4% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,454 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 864 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Annie Mcguire sold 10,204 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.02, for a total value of $398,160.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 143,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,607,486.16. The trade was a 6.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert S. Epstein sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.01, for a total transaction of $440,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 52,446 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,308,148.46. This trade represents a 16.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 202,967 shares of company stock valued at $9,881,831 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VCYT. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Monday, April 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research lowered shares of Veracyte from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Friday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.57.

Veracyte Price Performance

VCYT opened at $51.29 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $40.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.06 and a beta of 1.98. Veracyte, Inc. has a one year low of $22.61 and a one year high of $52.76.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.18. Veracyte had a net margin of 16.25% and a return on equity of 9.07%. The company had revenue of $139.07 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $130.36 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.31 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.29 earnings per share 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.

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