Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT Shares Sold by Janus Henderson Group PLC

Key Points

• Janus Henderson Group cut its Veracyte stake by 31% in the first quarter, selling 84,255 shares and retaining 187,368 shares valued at approximately $6.0 million. Several other institutional investors, including Jane Street and UBS Asset Management, increased their positions.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with Veracyte carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $54.33. Recent targets range from $52 to $65, although Stephens lowered its target to $55.
• Veracyte reported quarterly earnings of $0.54 per share, beating estimates of $0.41, while revenue rose 15.5% year over year to $150.32 million. Insiders sold 196,492 shares worth about $9.7 million over the past 90 days.

Janus Henderson Group PLC trimmed its holdings in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Free Report) by 31.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 187,368 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 84,255 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned 0.23% of Veracyte worth $6,034,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Veracyte by 23.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 28,712 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $852,000 after acquiring an additional 5,435 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Veracyte by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 195,793 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $5,805,000 after acquiring an additional 21,330 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 94.7% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 216,909 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $6,431,000 after purchasing an additional 105,499 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 54.1% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 42,762 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,268,000 after purchasing an additional 15,017 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 32.2% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 48,786 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $1,319,000 after purchasing an additional 11,889 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VCYT has been the subject of several recent research reports. UBS Group increased their price target on Veracyte from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $68.00 to $55.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Veracyte from $45.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Veracyte in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Veracyte currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $54.33.

Veracyte Price Performance

VCYT opened at $46.15 on Friday. Veracyte, Inc. has a 12 month low of $25.52 and a 12 month high of $60.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.73 and a beta of 1.95. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.42.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $150.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.59 million. Veracyte had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 20.37%.Veracyte's quarterly revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.44 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veracyte

In other news, Director Robert S. Epstein sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.01, for a total transaction of $440,100.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 52,446 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,308,148.46. This represents a 16.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Jonathan Wygant sold 24,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.40, for a total transaction of $1,089,600.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 45,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,062,703.60. This represents a 34.57% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 196,492 shares of company stock worth $9,680,897. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

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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