AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Sells 162,791 Shares of Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT

Key Points

• AEGON Asset Management UK Plc cut its Veracyte stake by 33.3% in Q1, selling 162,791 shares and leaving it with 326,627 shares worth about $10.5 million.
• Veracyte’s recent earnings topped expectations, with Q1 EPS of $0.52 versus $0.34 expected and revenue of $139.07 million, up 21.5% year over year.
• Analysts remain mixed but generally constructive: the stock carries a Moderate Buy consensus and a $47.57 average price target, while shares recently traded near their 52-week high at $53.63.

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc reduced its position in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Free Report) by 33.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 326,627 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 162,791 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc owned approximately 0.41% of Veracyte worth $10,511,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of VCYT. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its position in Veracyte by 289.9% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 893 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in Veracyte in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new position in Veracyte in the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 159.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the period. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Veracyte during the 3rd quarter valued at about $56,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on VCYT shares. 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 on the stock. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $37.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $47.57.

Veracyte Price Performance

Shares of VCYT opened at $53.63 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.47. Veracyte, Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.61 and a 52 week high of $53.81. The stock has a market cap of $4.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.20 and a beta of 1.98.

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

Insider Activity at Veracyte

In other news, EVP Annie Mcguire sold 3,176 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.76, for a total value of $158,037.76. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 137,240 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,829,062.40. This represents a 2.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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, insider John Leite sold 13,975 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.07, for a total transaction of $699,728.25. Following the sale, the insider owned 132,305 shares in the company, valued at $6,624,511.35. The trade was a 9.55% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 202,967 shares of company stock worth $9,881,831 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.40% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding VCYT? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.