Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Purchases New Position in Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 12,422 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $730,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Veracyte by 23.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 28,712 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $852,000 after buying an additional 5,435 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 12.2% during 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 position 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 worth $6,431,000 after acquiring an additional 105,499 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position 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 worth $1,268,000 after acquiring an additional 15,017 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Veracyte by 32.2% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 48,786 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,319,000 after purchasing an additional 11,889 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VCYT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Guggenheim increased their target price on Veracyte from $45.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Veracyte from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price target on shares of Veracyte from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $54.33.

Veracyte Price Performance

VCYT stock opened at $43.34 on Monday. Veracyte, Inc. has a 1-year low of $29.38 and a 1-year high of $60.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $51.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.90. The firm has a market cap of $3.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.74 and a beta of 1.95.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $144.59 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.44 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Veracyte

In related news, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 3,561 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.73, for a total value of $177,088.53. Following the sale, 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 is accessible 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 that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.76, for a total value of $158,037.76. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 137,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,829,062.40. This represents a 2.26% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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 a total of 162,492 shares of company stock valued at $8,151,197 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.