AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Trims Holdings in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc lowered its position in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 675,801 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 39,048 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc’s holdings in Veracyte were worth $26,741,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VCYT. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 148,629 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,221,000 after acquiring an additional 6,025 shares during the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Veracyte in the second quarter valued at $217,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Veracyte during the 2nd quarter worth about $58,000. AXA S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Veracyte during the 2nd quarter valued at about $347,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 42,766 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $927,000 after buying an additional 2,135 shares during the period.

Veracyte Price Performance

Shares of Veracyte stock opened at $43.81 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.66. Veracyte, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.61 and a 12 month high of $46.00.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.16. Veracyte had a positive return on equity of 3.02% and a negative net margin of 2.18%. The company had revenue of $115.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.81 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.03) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Veracyte news, insider John Leite sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.25, for a total value of $45,412.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 73,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,192,282.50. This trade represents a 1.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.30, for a total transaction of $403,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,497 shares in the company, valued at approximately $745,429.10. The trade was a 35.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 24,038 shares of company stock worth $1,008,297. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on VCYT. Leerink Partners lifted their price target on Veracyte from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com raised shares of Veracyte from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of Veracyte in a report on Thursday, October 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Veracyte from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.13.

About Veracyte

Veracyte, Inc engages in the research, development and commercialization of diagnostic products. The firm’s portfolio includes Afirma, Percepta, and Envisia. It intends to treat thyroid cancer, improve lung cancer screening, and clarify the diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The company was founded by Bonnie H.