Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT Holdings Decreased by GW&K Investment Management LLC

GW&K Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 11.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,140,083 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 143,396 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Veracyte were worth $47,998,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Veracyte by 23.3% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 28,712 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $852,000 after buying an additional 5,435 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 12.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 21,330 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 105,499 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 15,017 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Veracyte by 32.2% during the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 48,786 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,319,000 after purchasing an additional 11,889 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity at Veracyte

In related news, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 3,561 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.73, for a total value of $177,088.53. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 173,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,617,214.40. This trade represents a 2.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.76, for a total value of $158,037.76. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 137,240 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,829,062.40. The trade was a 2.26% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders sold 202,967 shares of company stock valued at $9,881,831 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Veracyte Stock Performance

Veracyte stock opened at $49.24 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.17 and a beta of 1.98. Veracyte, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.61 and a 1 year high of $50.71. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $38.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $39.20.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VCYT. UBS Group increased their price target on Veracyte from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on Veracyte from $48.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Guggenheim decreased their target price on Veracyte from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Veracyte in a report on Monday, April 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Veracyte presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $47.57.

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.