32,024 Shares in Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT Acquired by Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 32,024 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,031,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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 purchasing an additional 5,435 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in Veracyte by 12.2% in 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 buying an additional 21,330 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in Veracyte by 94.7% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 216,909 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,431,000 after buying an additional 105,499 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Veracyte by 54.1% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 42,762 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,268,000 after acquiring an additional 15,017 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 32.2% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 48,786 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,319,000 after acquiring an additional 11,889 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on VCYT shares. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Veracyte from $37.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group increased their price target on Veracyte from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veracyte

In other news, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 3,561 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.73, for a total value of $177,088.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 173,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,617,214.40. The trade was a 2.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, EVP Annie Mcguire sold 3,176 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.76, for a total transaction of $158,037.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 137,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,829,062.40. The trade was a 2.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 206,696 shares of company stock valued at $10,079,058. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Veracyte Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VCYT traded down $2.33 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $56.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 757,209 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,347,420. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.55 billion, a PE ratio of 52.27 and a beta of 1.93. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $48.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.86. Veracyte, Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.61 and a 52 week high of $60.91.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.18. Veracyte had a net margin of 16.25% and a return on equity of 9.07%. The business had revenue of $139.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $130.36 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.31 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 21.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.