State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Invests $1.13 Million in Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT

Key Points

• State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D initiated a new position in Veracyte, buying 26,852 shares worth about $1.13 million in the fourth quarter.
• Veracyte recently reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $0.52 versus expectations of $0.34 and revenue of $139.07 million, up 21.5% year over year.
• Wall Street sentiment remains mixed: the stock has an average Hold rating and average target price of $44.83, while several insiders, including the CEO, have recently sold shares.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D bought a new stake in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 26,852 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $1,130,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in Veracyte by 1.8% in the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 23,158 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $795,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in Veracyte by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 44,264 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,862,000 after purchasing an additional 552 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Veracyte by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 71,095 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,922,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 146.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,454 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 864 shares in the last quarter.

Veracyte Stock Performance

Shares of Veracyte stock opened at $39.70 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a PE ratio of 36.42 and a beta of 1.89. Veracyte, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.61 and a 52-week high of $50.71.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $139.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 in the prior year, the company posted $0.31 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Veracyte in a report on Monday, April 13th. They set a "buy" rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on Veracyte from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on Veracyte from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their target price on Veracyte from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Veracyte presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $44.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John Leite sold 5,260 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.19, for a total value of $185,099.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 107,580 shares in the company, valued at $3,785,740.20. The trade was a 4.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Marc Stapley sold 45,523 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 357,554 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,861,217.38. The trade was a 11.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 85,986 shares of company stock valued at $3,120,257. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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