Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Acquires New Holdings in Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System initiated a new position in Veracyte, buying 35,100 shares valued at about $1.13 million in the first quarter.
• Veracyte reported strong quarterly results, posting $0.52 EPS versus $0.34 expected and revenue of $139.07 million, up 21.5% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly positive: the stock carries a Moderate Buy consensus with a target price of $50.43, though recent insider sales and mixed rating changes have added some caution.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 35,100 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,131,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VCYT. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 23.6% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,324,965 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $45,486,000 after buying an additional 253,033 shares during the last quarter. Westview Management dba Westview Investment Advisors bought a new position in Veracyte in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,376,000. Iron Triangle Partners LP bought a new position in Veracyte in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $16,650,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Veracyte by 54.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 518,850 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $17,812,000 after buying an additional 181,872 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc increased its position in Veracyte by 19.5% in the 4th quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 489,418 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $20,604,000 after acquiring an additional 79,817 shares during the period.

Veracyte Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VCYT opened at $57.08 on Friday. Veracyte, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.61 and a twelve month high of $60.91. The company has a market capitalization of $4.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.37 and a beta of 1.93. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $46.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.36.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Veracyte in a research note on Monday, April 13th. They set 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 note on Saturday, June 27th. Zacks Research lowered Veracyte from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $45.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Veracyte presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $50.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veracyte

In related news, Director Karin Eastham sold 3,729 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.89, for a total transaction of $197,226.81. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 15,097 shares in the company, valued at approximately $798,480.33. This trade represents a 19.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Annie Mcguire sold 3,176 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.76, for a total transaction of $158,037.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 137,240 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,829,062.40. The trade was a 2.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 206,696 shares of company stock valued at $10,079,058. 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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