HighTower Advisors LLC Takes $554,000 Position in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 16,325 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $554,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cinctive Capital Management LP grew its stake in Veracyte by 4.1% during the third quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP now owns 109,015 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $3,711,000 after acquiring an additional 4,342 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its stake in Veracyte by 13,351.4% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 28,517 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $971,000 after buying an additional 28,305 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its position in Veracyte by 87.0% during the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 5,021 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $171,000 after buying an additional 2,336 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the 3rd quarter valued at about $574,000. Finally, Bellevue Group AG purchased a new position in shares of Veracyte during the third quarter worth about $123,000.

Veracyte Price Performance

NASDAQ:VCYT opened at $40.89 on Friday. Veracyte, Inc. has a one year low of $18.61 and a one year high of $46.00. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $38.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -272.60 and a beta of 1.69.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $115.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $109.81 million. Veracyte had a positive return on equity of 3.02% and a negative net margin of 2.18%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 28.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.03) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on VCYT shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $37.00 price target (down from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Veracyte from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Veracyte from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.13.

Insider Activity at Veracyte

In other news, insider John Leite sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.25, for a total value of $45,412.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 73,810 shares in the company, valued at $3,192,282.50. This trade represents a 1.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Jonathan Wygant sold 5,032 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.89, for a total value of $215,822.48. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 42,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,814,804.57. This trade represents a 10.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 14,038 shares of company stock valued at $605,297. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Veracyte Profile

Veracyte, Inc engages in the research, development and commercialization of diagnostic products. The firm’s portfolio includes Afirma, Percepta, and Envisia. It intends to treat thyroid cancer, improve lung cancer screening, and clarify the diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The company was founded by Bonnie H.