Burney Co. Purchases Shares of 37,751 Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT

Key Points

• Burney Co. disclosed a new first-quarter stake in Veracyte, buying 37,751 shares worth about $1.216 million.
• Veracyte has seen broader institutional interest, with several hedge funds and asset managers increasing or initiating positions in recent quarters, including First Trust Advisors, JPMorgan, and AEGON Asset Management.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on the stock: Veracyte carries a Moderate Buy consensus rating with a $50.43 average price target, while the company also recently reported strong quarterly results that beat EPS and revenue expectations.

Burney Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 37,751 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,216,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Veracyte by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,324,965 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $45,486,000 after purchasing an additional 253,033 shares during the period. Westview Management dba Westview Investment Advisors acquired a new position in Veracyte during the fourth quarter worth $1,376,000. Iron Triangle Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Veracyte in the third quarter valued at $16,650,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 54.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 518,850 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $17,812,000 after buying an additional 181,872 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc grew its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 19.5% during the fourth quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 489,418 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $20,604,000 after buying an additional 79,817 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on Veracyte from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Veracyte in a report on Monday, April 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut Veracyte from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. UBS Group upped their price target on Veracyte from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on Veracyte from $45.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $50.43.

Veracyte Trading Down 0.1%

VCYT stock opened at $56.12 on Thursday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $47.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $40.64. Veracyte, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.61 and a 1-year high of $60.91. The stock has a market cap of $4.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.49 and a beta of 1.93.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $139.07 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $130.36 million. Veracyte had a return on equity of 9.07% and a net margin of 16.25%.The business's revenue was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.31 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Veracyte news, insider John Leite sold 13,975 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.07, for a total value of $699,728.25. Following the transaction, the insider directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 3,561 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.73, for a total transaction of $177,088.53. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 173,280 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,617,214.40. The trade was a 2.01% decrease in their position. 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 206,696 shares of company stock valued at $10,079,058. Company 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.

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