Eventide Asset Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT

Eventide Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Free Report) by 16.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 570,720 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 114,136 shares during the period. Eventide Asset Management LLC owned about 0.72% of Veracyte worth $24,027,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VCYT. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Veracyte in the 4th quarter worth approximately $58,158,000. Champlain Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Veracyte in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,064,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its stake in Veracyte by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 7,370,467 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $253,028,000 after acquiring an additional 1,048,692 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in Veracyte by 770.6% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 897,387 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $24,256,000 after acquiring an additional 794,307 shares during the period. Finally, Fred Alger Management LLC purchased a new stake in Veracyte in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,348,000.

Veracyte Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ VCYT opened at $47.33 on Friday. Veracyte, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.61 and a 52-week high of $50.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $39.43 and a 200-day moving average of $39.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a PE ratio of 43.42 and a beta of 1.98.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Veracyte had a net margin of 16.25% and a return on equity of 9.07%. The company had revenue of $139.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $130.36 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.31 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on VCYT shares. Guggenheim lowered their target price on shares of Veracyte from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Monday, April 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $45.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $37.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. One equities research 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $47.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veracyte

In related news, SVP Annie Mcguire sold 10,204 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.02, for a total transaction of $398,160.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 143,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,607,486.16. The trade was a 6.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Jonathan Wygant sold 24,000 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.40, for a total transaction of $1,089,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 45,434 shares in the company, valued at $2,062,703.60. The trade was a 34.57% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 202,967 shares of company stock worth $9,881,831. Corporate insiders own 1.40% 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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