Alyeska Investment Group L.P. reduced its position in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Free Report) by 35.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 518,043 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 290,527 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. owned 0.64% of Veracyte worth $30,425,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Veracyte by 23.3% during the 1st 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 lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 21,330 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 105,499 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Veracyte by 54.1% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 42,762 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,268,000 after purchasing an additional 15,017 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Veracyte by 32.2% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 48,786 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,319,000 after purchasing an additional 11,889 shares during the last quarter.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on VCYT shares. Guggenheim raised their target price on Veracyte from $45.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of Veracyte from $57.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Stephens reduced their price target on shares of Veracyte from $68.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $47.00 to $44.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $54.33.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on VCYT
Insider Activity
In other news, CEO Marc Stapley sold 138,051 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.12, for a total value of $6,919,116.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 440,494 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,077,559.28. The trade was a 23.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 162,492 shares of company stock valued at $8,151,197. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Veracyte Price Performance
Shares of NASDAQ VCYT opened at $43.34 on Monday. Veracyte, Inc. has a one year low of $29.38 and a one year high of $60.91. The business's fifty day moving average price is $51.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.48 billion, a PE ratio of 30.74 and a beta of 1.95.
Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.13. Veracyte had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 20.37%.The company had revenue of $150.32 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.59 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.44 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.
About Veracyte
(
Free Report)
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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