Fisher Asset Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT

Key Points

• Fisher Asset Management increased its Veracyte stake by 8.6% in the fourth quarter, buying 62,676 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 795,712 shares valued at about $33.5 million.
• Veracyte reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.52 versus the $0.34 estimate and revenue of $139.07 million, up 21.5% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: the stock has a consensus rating of Hold with a consensus target price of $44.83, though several firms still rate it Buy while Morgan Stanley maintains an Underweight rating.

Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Free Report) by 8.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 795,712 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 62,676 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC owned about 1.01% of Veracyte worth $33,500,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its position in Veracyte by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 18,100 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $762,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in Veracyte by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 23,158 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $795,000 after buying an additional 419 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in Veracyte by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 44,264 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,862,000 after buying an additional 552 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in Veracyte by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 71,095 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,922,000 after buying an additional 566 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Veracyte by 26.3% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,841 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $162,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the period.

Veracyte Price Performance

Shares of VCYT opened at $44.21 on Wednesday. Veracyte, Inc. has a one year low of $22.61 and a one year high of $50.71. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.53 billion, a PE ratio of 40.56 and a beta of 1.89.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $139.07 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $130.36 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.31 earnings per share. Veracyte's quarterly revenue was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on VCYT shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $37.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Monday, April 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of Veracyte from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $44.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Veracyte news, CEO Marc Stapley sold 45,523 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.97, for a total value of $1,637,462.31. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 357,554 shares in the company, valued at $12,861,217.38. This trade represents a 11.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 18,341 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.14, for a total transaction of $662,843.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 131,196 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,741,423.44. The trade was a 12.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 95,986 shares of company stock valued at $3,560,357 over the last ninety days. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Veracyte 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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