Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Invests $5.61 Million in Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC purchased a new stake in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 95,586 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,614,000. Rice Hall James & Associates LLC owned approximately 0.12% of Veracyte at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Veracyte by 289.9% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 893 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in Veracyte in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Veracyte in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Veracyte by 159.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG acquired a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the 4th quarter worth $61,000.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider John Leite sold 13,975 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.07, for a total transaction of $699,728.25. Following the sale, the insider owned 132,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,624,511.35. This represents a 9.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 3,561 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.73, for a total transaction of $177,088.53. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 173,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,617,214.40. This trade represents a 2.01% 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. Insiders have sold 196,492 shares of company stock valued at $9,680,897 over the last quarter. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Veracyte Trading Up 2.0%

NASDAQ VCYT opened at $42.08 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.55. The stock has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a PE ratio of 29.84 and a beta of 1.95. Veracyte, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.25 and a twelve month high of $60.91.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.13. Veracyte had a net margin of 20.37% and a return on equity of 9.26%. The company had revenue of $150.32 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.59 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.44 earnings per share. Veracyte’s revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.32 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VCYT. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Veracyte from $45.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $57.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Veracyte from $68.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Veracyte in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Veracyte currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $54.33.

Veracyte 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.