Bank of America Corp DE Invests $64.74 Million in Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT

Key Points

• Bank of America acquired 1.1 million Veracyte shares worth approximately $64.7 million in the second quarter, giving it a 1.37% stake. Other major institutions, including BlackRock and William Blair, also established or increased positions.
• Veracyte reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with earnings of $0.54 per share versus the $0.41 consensus estimate and revenue of $150.3 million, up 15.5% year over year.
• Shares recently traded at $39.79, down 1.9%, while analysts maintained a generally positive outlook: the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $55.78.

Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,102,279 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $64,737,000. Bank of America Corp DE owned 1.37% of Veracyte as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VCYT. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Veracyte during the 2nd quarter valued at about $792,058,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 2.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,881,090 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $92,787,000 after purchasing an additional 80,614 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Veracyte in the second quarter valued at approximately $84,078,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,900,882 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $80,039,000 after purchasing an additional 9,429 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew 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.

Veracyte Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of Veracyte stock opened at $39.79 on Friday. Veracyte, Inc. has a 12-month low of $29.45 and a 12-month high of $60.91. The stock has a market cap of $3.20 billion, a PE ratio of 28.22 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a 50-day moving average of $47.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.47.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $150.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.59 million. Veracyte had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 20.37%.Veracyte's quarterly revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.44 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on VCYT shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Veracyte from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Zacks Research raised Veracyte from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group raised their price objective on Veracyte from $52.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Veracyte has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $55.78.

Insider Activity at Veracyte

In other news, Director Jens Holstein sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.95, for a total value of $204,750.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 27,471 shares in the company, valued at $1,124,937.45. This represents a 15.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Muna Bhanji sold 1,864 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.97, for a total value of $80,096.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 42,718 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,835,592.46. The trade was a 4.18% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 26,880 shares of company stock valued at $1,146,848 in the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Veracyte

Veracyte, Inc is a diagnostics company that develops and commercializes genomic tests designed to help physicians diagnose cancer, assess disease risk and guide treatment decisions. The company combines genomic data with bioinformatics and machine-learning technologies to provide clinically actionable information from patient tissue samples.

Veracyte's portfolio includes Afirma tests for evaluating thyroid nodules, Decipher tests for assessing the risk and biological characteristics of prostate cancer, and Prosigna for classifying and evaluating recurrence risk in certain breast cancers.

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