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

UBS Group AG lessened its position in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 34.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 172,546 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 92,009 shares during the period. UBS Group AG’s holdings in Veracyte were worth $7,264,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Veracyte Stock Up 7.8%

Shares of Veracyte stock opened at $41.50 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.07 and a beta of 1.89. The company’s 50 day moving average is $34.01 and its 200 day moving average is $38.41. Veracyte, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.61 and a twelve month high of $50.71.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $139.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $130.36 million. Veracyte had a net margin of 16.25% and a return on equity of 9.07%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.31 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Veracyte

In related news, SVP Annie Mcguire sold 10,204 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.02, for a total transaction of $398,160.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 143,708 shares in the company, valued at $5,607,486.16. This represents a 6.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider John Leite sold 5,260 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.19, for a total transaction of $185,099.40. Following the transaction, the insider owned 107,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,740.20. This trade represents a 4.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 85,986 shares of company stock worth $3,120,257 in the last three months. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on VCYT. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $37.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Veracyte in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a report on Friday, March 27th. Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of Veracyte from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $44.83.

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.