Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT Shares Sold by GW&K Investment Management LLC

GW&K Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 8.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,283,479 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 121,236 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC owned 1.62% of Veracyte worth $44,062,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in VCYT. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in Veracyte by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 23,158 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $795,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 0.8% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 71,095 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $1,922,000 after purchasing an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey increased its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 4.6% during the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 17,991 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $486,000 after purchasing an additional 790 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Veracyte by 4.0% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 22,732 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $614,000 after purchasing an additional 865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Veracyte by 289.9% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 893 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Annie Mcguire sold 10,739 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total transaction of $463,173.07. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 67,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,922,488.80. This trade represents a 13.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Karin Eastham sold 20,000 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction on Friday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.45, for a total transaction of $909,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $616,029.30. The trade was a 59.61% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VCYT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Veracyte from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Veracyte from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $46.71.

Veracyte Stock Performance

Veracyte stock opened at $36.27 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.70 and a beta of 1.91. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $39.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.02. Veracyte, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.61 and a 1 year high of $50.71.

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

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.