Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Purchases 5,821 Shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 2,188.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,087 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,821 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Veracyte were worth $207,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VCYT. Algert Global LLC increased its stake in shares of Veracyte by 411.1% during the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 201,697 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $6,866,000 after purchasing an additional 162,236 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in Veracyte in the third quarter worth $431,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new position in Veracyte during the third quarter worth $324,000. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Veracyte during the third quarter valued at about $723,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Veracyte by 288.6% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 360,871 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $12,284,000 after buying an additional 268,000 shares during the last quarter.

Veracyte Trading Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ:VCYT opened at $42.95 on Monday. Veracyte, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.61 and a 1 year high of $44.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $35.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.07. The stock has a market cap of $3.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -286.33 and a beta of 1.67.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.16. Veracyte had a negative net margin of 2.18% and a positive return on equity of 3.02%. The business had revenue of $115.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.81 million. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.03) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 28.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Evan/ Fa Jones sold 5,173 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.23, for a total transaction of $182,244.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 34,343 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,209,903.89. This trade represents a 13.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Leite sold 5,479 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.78, for a total value of $163,164.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 76,174 shares in the company, valued at $2,268,461.72. This represents a 6.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,684 shares of company stock worth $561,232. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VCYT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Veracyte from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Veracyte from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Leerink Partners upped their price target on shares of Veracyte from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Veracyte from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Veracyte has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.25.

About Veracyte

Veracyte, Inc operates as a diagnostics company in the United States and internationally. The company offers Afirma Genomic Sequencing Classifier for cancerous thyroid nodules; Decipher Prostate Biopsy and Radical Prostatectomy for prostate cancer diagnosis; Prosigna Breast Cancer Assay for breast cancer diagnosis; Percepta Nasal Swab Test for lung cancer diagnosis; and Envisia Genomic Classifier for diagnosing interstitial lung disease, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.