Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Shares Sold by Bank of America Corp DE

Bank of America Corp DE cut its stake in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Free Report) by 53.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 742,709 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 855,841 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.96% of Veracyte worth $29,411,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VCYT. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 31.4% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 6,599,264 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $261,331,000 after acquiring an additional 1,576,432 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 768.9% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 956,577 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $37,880,000 after acquiring an additional 846,487 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,211,612 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $325,180,000 after acquiring an additional 463,098 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 116.3% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 833,754 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $33,017,000 after acquiring an additional 448,251 shares during the period. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new position in shares of Veracyte in the 4th quarter valued at $16,224,000.

Veracyte Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of VCYT stock traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $27.16. The stock had a trading volume of 612,390 shares, compared to its average volume of 892,894. The business's fifty day moving average is $30.57 and its 200-day moving average is $36.77. The firm has a market cap of $2.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -181.07 and a beta of 2.14. Veracyte, Inc. has a 1-year low of $19.73 and a 1-year high of $47.32.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on VCYT shares. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Veracyte in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Craig Hallum began coverage on Veracyte in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group dropped their target price on Veracyte from $49.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Veracyte from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their target price on Veracyte from $45.00 to $37.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $40.90.

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.