AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Has $20.60 Million Position in Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT

Key Points

• AEGON Asset Management UK Plc increased its stake in Veracyte by 19.5% to 489,418 shares worth $20.6 million (about 0.62% of the company) in the most recent quarter, and several other institutional investors also raised positions.
• Veracyte beat expectations in its most recent quarter, reporting $0.53 EPS vs. $0.41 expected and revenue of $140.6 million (up 18.5% year‑over‑year).
• Analysts are mixed: the consensus rating is a Hold with a $43.83 consensus price target, based on four Buy, three Hold and one Sell ratings.

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Free Report) by 19.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 489,418 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 79,817 shares during the quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc owned 0.62% of Veracyte worth $20,604,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 23.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 28,712 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $852,000 after buying an additional 5,435 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 12.2% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 195,793 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $5,805,000 after buying an additional 21,330 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 94.7% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 216,909 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $6,431,000 after buying an additional 105,499 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 54.1% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 42,762 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,268,000 after buying an additional 15,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 32.2% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 48,786 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,319,000 after buying an additional 11,889 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on VCYT. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price objective on Veracyte from $43.00 to $40.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 20th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Veracyte in a research note on Monday, April 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Friday, March 27th. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $48.00 price target on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $43.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Annie Mcguire sold 6,658 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.55, for a total value of $236,691.90. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 94,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,366,798.30. This trade represents a 6.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 18,341 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.14, for a total value of $662,843.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 131,196 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,741,423.44. The trade was a 12.27% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 75,782 shares of company stock valued at $2,722,097 over the last 90 days. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Veracyte Trading Up 3.6%

NASDAQ:VCYT opened at $34.33 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.36 and a beta of 1.96. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.19. Veracyte, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.61 and a 1-year high of $50.71.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $140.64 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $135.79 million. Veracyte had a return on equity of 8.05% and a net margin of 12.83%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.06 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.21 EPS for the current year.

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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