Virtus Fund Advisers LLC Sells 677 Shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

Virtus Fund Advisers LLC lowered its stake in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 14.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,121 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 677 shares during the period. Veracyte makes up approximately 0.5% of Virtus Fund Advisers LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC’s holdings in Veracyte were worth $163,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of VCYT. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Veracyte during the fourth quarter worth $580,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Veracyte by 138.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 146,402 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,983,000 after buying an additional 85,033 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 116.3% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 833,754 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $33,017,000 after buying an additional 448,251 shares in the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Veracyte during the 4th quarter worth approximately $693,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Veracyte by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 48,414 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,918,000 after buying an additional 1,816 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on VCYT shares. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $49.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on shares of Veracyte from $51.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Craig Hallum started coverage on Veracyte in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their price objective on Veracyte from $45.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Veracyte currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $40.90.

Veracyte Price Performance

VCYT opened at $29.20 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $2.29 billion, a PE ratio of -194.67 and a beta of 2.14. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $30.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.96. Veracyte, Inc. has a 1 year low of $19.73 and a 1 year high of $47.32.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The biotechnology company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $118.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $110.73 million. Veracyte had a positive return on equity of 3.02% and a negative net margin of 2.18%. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.39) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 EPS for the current year.

Veracyte Company Profile

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.