Squarepoint Ops LLC Sells 49,301 Shares of Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT

Key Points

• Squarepoint Ops LLC cut its Veracyte stake by 76.8% in the second quarter, selling 49,301 shares and retaining 14,853 shares valued at approximately $872,000.
• Institutional activity was mixed: BlackRock, William Blair, Bank of America and Legal & General initiated new positions, while First Trust Advisors increased its holdings by 64.9%.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with Veracyte receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $55.78. The company also exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.54 EPS and $150.32 million in revenue, up 15.5% year over year.

Squarepoint Ops LLC decreased its holdings in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Free Report) by 76.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,853 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 49,301 shares during the quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC's holdings in Veracyte were worth $872,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in VCYT. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Veracyte during the second quarter worth about $792,058,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Veracyte in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $84,078,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Veracyte in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $64,737,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Veracyte during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,398,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Veracyte by 64.9% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,117,046 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $68,190,000 after buying an additional 833,543 shares during the period.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Phillip Febbo sold 13,110 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.05, for a total transaction of $564,385.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 133,048 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,727,716.40. This trade represents a 8.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 Jens Holstein sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.95, for a total transaction of $204,750.00. Following the sale, the director owned 27,471 shares in the company, valued at $1,124,937.45. This represents a 15.40% decrease in their position. 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 26,880 shares of company stock worth $1,146,848. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on VCYT. Guggenheim upped their price target on Veracyte from $45.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Veracyte from $52.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Veracyte in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Veracyte from $47.00 to $44.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on Veracyte in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Veracyte presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $55.78.

Veracyte Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of VCYT opened at $39.79 on Friday. Veracyte, Inc. has a 12 month low of $29.45 and a 12 month high of $60.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.22 and a beta of 1.93. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $43.47.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.13. Veracyte had a net margin of 20.37% and a return on equity of 9.26%. The firm had revenue of $150.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.59 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.44 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Veracyte Company Profile

Veracyte, Inc is a diagnostics company that develops and commercializes genomic tests designed to help physicians diagnose cancer, assess disease risk and guide treatment decisions. The company combines genomic data with bioinformatics and machine-learning technologies to provide clinically actionable information from patient tissue samples.

Veracyte's portfolio includes Afirma tests for evaluating thyroid nodules, Decipher tests for assessing the risk and biological characteristics of prostate cancer, and Prosigna for classifying and evaluating recurrence risk in certain breast cancers.

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