The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Purchases New Stake in Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 37,565 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,206,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of VCYT. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Veracyte by 289.9% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 893 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 159.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Veracyte during the second quarter worth approximately $50,000. Finally, Leonteq Securities AG purchased a new position in Veracyte during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,000.

Veracyte Stock Up 3.3%

NASDAQ VCYT opened at $44.88 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a PE ratio of 31.83 and a beta of 1.93. Veracyte, Inc. has a 12-month low of $29.45 and a 12-month high of $60.91. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $51.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.06.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.54 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.59 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.44 EPS. Veracyte’s quarterly revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.32 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Veracyte news, Director Karin Eastham sold 3,729 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.89, for a total transaction of $197,226.81. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 15,097 shares in the company, valued at $798,480.33. This trade represents a 19.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing 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. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on VCYT. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $45.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Veracyte from $66.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Veracyte in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $55.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Stephens cut their price objective on Veracyte from $68.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.33.

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.