Bank of America Corp DE Grows Stock Position in Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT

Key Points

• Bank of America increased its Veracyte stake by 14.7% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 1.45 million shares worth approximately $46.7 million. Several other institutional investors also increased their positions, including First Trust Advisors, which raised its holdings by 64.9%.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with Veracyte carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $54.33. Recent targets ranged from $55 to $69, although Stephens lowered its target from $68 to $55.
• Veracyte exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.54 in earnings per share versus the $0.41 consensus estimate and revenue of $150.32 million, up 15.5% year over year. Insiders sold $9.68 million of stock over the past three months, primarily through planned transactions and tax-related sales.

Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Free Report) by 14.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,448,897 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 185,929 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned 1.82% of Veracyte worth $46,669,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc raised its stake in shares of Veracyte by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 489,418 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $20,604,000 after acquiring an additional 79,817 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 790,425 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $33,277,000 after purchasing an additional 112,516 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 24.4% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 93,029 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,996,000 after purchasing an additional 18,261 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,475,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 64.9% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,117,046 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $68,190,000 after purchasing an additional 833,543 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VCYT has been the topic of several research reports. Wolfe Research began coverage on Veracyte in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised Veracyte from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Weiss Ratings raised Veracyte from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Veracyte from $57.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Stephens cut their price target on Veracyte from $68.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Veracyte has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $54.33.

Veracyte Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VCYT opened at $44.68 on Thursday. Veracyte, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $28.25 and a fifty-two week high of $60.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.69 and a beta of 1.95. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $53.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.52.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $150.32 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.59 million. Veracyte had a net margin of 20.37% and a return on equity of 9.26%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.44 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Veracyte news, CAO Jonathan Wygant sold 24,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.40, for a total value of $1,089,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 45,434 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,062,703.60. This represents a 34.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marc Stapley sold 138,051 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 440,494 shares in the company, valued at $22,077,559.28. The trade was a 23.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 sold 196,492 shares of company stock worth $9,680,897 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Veracyte Company 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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