UBS Group AG Trims Position in Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT

Key Points

• UBS Group AG cut its Veracyte stake by 34.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 92,009 shares and leaving it with 172,546 shares valued at about $7.26 million.
• Veracyte reported strong quarterly results, posting $0.52 EPS versus the $0.34 estimate and revenue of $139.1 million, up 21.5% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leaning cautious: the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” with a consensus target price of $44.83, even after several firms raised or lowered their price targets.

UBS Group AG decreased its holdings in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Free Report) by 34.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 172,546 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 92,009 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned about 0.22% of Veracyte worth $7,264,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc raised its holdings 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 worth $20,604,000 after purchasing an additional 79,817 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 138,087 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $5,822,000 after purchasing an additional 15,451 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 27.5% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 27,542 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,160,000 after purchasing an additional 5,947 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Veracyte by 26.3% during the fourth 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. Finally, DeLarme Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Veracyte during the fourth quarter valued at about $253,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Veracyte in a report on Friday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Veracyte from $48.00 to $37.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Veracyte from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Veracyte has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $44.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Veracyte news, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 18,341 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.14, for a total value of $662,843.74. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John Leite sold 5,260 shares of the 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 sale, the insider directly owned 107,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,740.20. This represents a 4.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 85,986 shares of company stock worth $3,120,257. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Veracyte Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VCYT opened at $41.50 on Tuesday. Veracyte, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.61 and a 1 year high of $50.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $34.01 and a 200 day moving average of $38.41. The stock has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.07 and a beta of 1.89.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $130.36 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.31 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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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