Man Group plc Has $4.82 Million Stock Position in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

Man Group plc reduced its stake in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Free Report) by 70.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 121,745 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 294,029 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc owned 0.16% of Veracyte worth $4,821,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in Veracyte by 49.7% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 714 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in Veracyte by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 22,276 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $882,000 after buying an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in Veracyte by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 23,132 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $916,000 after buying an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in Veracyte by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 16,630 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $659,000 after buying an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in Veracyte by 34.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,909 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 485 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on VCYT. Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of Veracyte from $45.00 to $37.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on shares of Veracyte from $51.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Craig Hallum assumed coverage on shares of Veracyte in a report on Thursday, March 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Veracyte in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Veracyte from $49.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Veracyte presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $40.90.

Veracyte Stock Performance

VCYT traded down $0.24 on Friday, reaching $27.16. The company had a trading volume of 612,390 shares, compared to its average volume of 892,893. Veracyte, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $19.73 and a fifty-two week high of $47.32. The stock has a market cap of $2.13 billion, a P/E ratio of -181.07 and a beta of 2.14. The company's fifty day moving average is $30.57 and its 200 day moving average is $36.77.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The biotechnology company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.07. Veracyte had a negative net margin of 2.18% and a positive return on equity of 3.02%. The business had revenue of $118.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $110.73 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.39) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 EPS for the current year.

About Veracyte

Veracyte, Inc engages in the research, development and commercialization of diagnostic products. The firm's portfolio includes Afirma, Percepta, and Envisia. It intends to treat thyroid cancer, improve lung cancer screening, and clarify the diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The company was founded by Bonnie H.