Empowered Funds LLC Buys 68,171 Shares of Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC increased its Veracyte stake by 6,844.5% in the first quarter, acquiring 68,171 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 69,167 shares valued at approximately $2.23 million.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with Veracyte receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $54.33, although some firms recently downgraded or reduced their targets.
• Veracyte reported quarterly EPS of $0.54, beating estimates by $0.13, while revenue rose 15.5% year over year to $150.32 million. Separately, insiders sold 196,492 shares worth about $9.68 million over the past three months.

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Free Report) by 6,844.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 69,167 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 68,171 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Veracyte worth $2,228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VCYT. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Veracyte by 23.3% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 28,712 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $852,000 after acquiring an additional 5,435 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Veracyte by 12.2% in 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 valued at $5,805,000 after acquiring an additional 21,330 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in Veracyte by 94.7% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 216,909 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $6,431,000 after purchasing an additional 105,499 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC increased 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 period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Veracyte by 32.2% during the 2nd 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

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Veracyte from $66.00 to $54.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research lowered shares of Veracyte from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Veracyte currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $54.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Marc Stapley sold 138,051 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.12, for a total value of $6,919,116.12. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale 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, Director Robert S. Epstein sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.01, for a total value of $440,100.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 52,446 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,308,148.46. This represents a 16.01% 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 196,492 shares of company stock valued at $9,680,897. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Veracyte Price Performance

Shares of Veracyte stock opened at $46.15 on Thursday. Veracyte, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.79 and a 1 year high of $60.91. The business has a 50-day moving average of $53.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.39. The company has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.73 and a beta of 1.95.

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. Veracyte had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 20.37%.The business had revenue of $150.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $144.59 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.44 EPS. Veracyte's revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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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