Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. Sells 68,900 Shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Free Report) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,104,676 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 68,900 shares during the quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. owned about 4.25% of Veracyte worth $85,410,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VCYT. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 96.2% in the third quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,862 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 913 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Veracyte by 16.9% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 8,573 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $191,000 after buying an additional 1,239 shares in the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN bought a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Veracyte during the fourth quarter worth approximately $264,000. Finally, Wrapmanager Inc. increased its stake in Veracyte by 28.7% during the 4th quarter. Wrapmanager Inc. now owns 11,726 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $323,000 after acquiring an additional 2,617 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on VCYT shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Veracyte from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Veracyte from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Veracyte from $33.00 to $27.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Veracyte presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $27.50.

Veracyte Stock Performance

Shares of VCYT traded down $0.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $22.88. The company had a trading volume of 628,484 shares, compared to its average volume of 658,547. The company has a market capitalization of $1.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.34 and a beta of 1.65. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $20.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.88. Veracyte, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.61 and a 1-year high of $30.52.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.19) by $0.17. Veracyte had a negative net margin of 18.16% and a negative return on equity of 1.42%. The firm had revenue of $96.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.35 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.11) earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Veracyte, Inc. will post -0.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.65, for a total transaction of $216,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 33,125 shares in the company, valued at $717,156.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.60% of the company's stock.

Veracyte Company Profile

Veracyte, Inc operates as a diagnostics company in the United States and internationally. The company offers Afirma Genomic Sequencing Classifier for cancerous thyroid nodules; Decipher Prostate Biopsy and Radical Prostatectomy for prostate cancer diagnosis; Prosigna Breast Cancer Assay for breast cancer diagnosis; Percepta Nasal Swab Test for lung cancer diagnosis; and Envisia Genomic Classifier for diagnosing interstitial lung disease, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.