Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. reduced its stake in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 15.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,257,898 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 224,185 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Veracyte were worth $52,958,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VCYT. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc grew its position in Veracyte by 34.8% during the third quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 409,601 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $14,062,000 after acquiring an additional 105,721 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Veracyte by 667.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 435,761 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $14,960,000 after acquiring an additional 379,014 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its position in Veracyte by 16.6% during the third quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 7,370,467 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $253,028,000 after acquiring an additional 1,048,692 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Veracyte by 23.6% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,324,965 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $45,486,000 after acquiring an additional 253,033 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Iron Triangle Partners LP bought a new position in Veracyte during the third quarter valued at approximately $16,650,000.

Veracyte Stock Down 0.8%

NASDAQ:VCYT opened at $34.04 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $2.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.01 and a beta of 1.96. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.27. Veracyte, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.61 and a twelve month high of $50.71.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The biotechnology company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $140.64 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $135.79 million. Veracyte had a net margin of 12.83% and a return on equity of 8.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.06 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VCYT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research cut shares of Veracyte from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 27th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.33.

Insider Transactions at Veracyte

In other Veracyte news, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 18,341 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.14, for a total transaction of $662,843.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 131,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,741,423.44. This trade represents a 12.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Annie Mcguire sold 6,658 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.55, for a total value of $236,691.90. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 94,706 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,366,798.30. This represents a 6.57% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 75,782 shares of company stock worth $2,722,097. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

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.