Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Lowers Position in Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. decreased its stake in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 10.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,482,083 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 165,094 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Veracyte were worth $50,880,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Horizon Corp bought a new stake in Veracyte during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Summit Creek Advisors LLC bought a new position in Veracyte in the 3rd quarter worth $8,518,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new stake in Veracyte in the 3rd quarter worth $622,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Veracyte during the third quarter valued at about $516,000. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund purchased a new position in shares of Veracyte in the third quarter valued at about $608,000.

Insider Transactions at Veracyte

In related news, insider John Leite sold 1,278 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.51, for a total transaction of $60,717.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 82,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,901,188.63. The trade was a 1.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Karin Eastham sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.45, for a total transaction of $909,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 13,554 shares in the company, valued at $616,029.30. The trade was a 59.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 134,635 shares of company stock worth $5,981,961. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Veracyte Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VCYT opened at $41.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 107.90 and a beta of 1.88. Veracyte, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.61 and a 1-year high of $50.71. The business’s 50 day moving average is $43.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.18.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The biotechnology company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $131.87 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $124.62 million. Veracyte had a return on equity of 7.23% and a net margin of 6.12%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.33 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on VCYT shares. Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their target price on Veracyte from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, December 27th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Veracyte from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Veracyte from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.14.

About Veracyte

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.