Westview Management dba Westview Investment Advisors Invests $1.38 Million in Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT

Westview Management dba Westview Investment Advisors acquired a new position in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 32,690 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,376,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Veracyte by 23.3% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 28,712 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $852,000 after purchasing an additional 5,435 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Veracyte by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 195,793 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $5,805,000 after buying an additional 21,330 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in Veracyte by 94.7% in the 1st 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 position in Veracyte by 54.1% in the 1st 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, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Veracyte by 4.0% during the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 22,732 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $614,000 after acquiring an additional 865 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veracyte

In related news, SVP Annie Mcguire sold 6,658 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.55, for a total transaction of $236,691.90. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 94,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,366,798.30. This trade represents a 6.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John Leite sold 5,260 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.19, for a total transaction of $185,099.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 107,580 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,785,740.20. This trade represents a 4.66% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 75,782 shares of company stock valued at $2,722,097. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on Veracyte from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Zacks Research cut shares of Veracyte from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a report on Monday, December 29th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Veracyte from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Veracyte presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $45.17.

Veracyte Stock Down 2.9%

NASDAQ:VCYT opened at $31.84 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $36.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.33. Veracyte, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.61 and a 52-week high of $50.71. The firm has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.36 and a beta of 1.91.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $140.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $135.79 million. Veracyte had a net margin of 12.83% and a return on equity of 8.05%. Veracyte’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.06 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 EPS for the current year.

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.