Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Position Reduced by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 32.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,486 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 14,712 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Veracyte were worth $1,038,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VCYT. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Veracyte in the second quarter worth about $12,279,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Veracyte by 67.4% during the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,241,671 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $26,907,000 after buying an additional 500,020 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Veracyte in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $9,498,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 288.6% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 360,871 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $12,284,000 after acquiring an additional 268,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 276.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 301,652 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $10,268,000 after acquiring an additional 221,504 shares during the last quarter.

Veracyte Price Performance

Shares of VCYT stock opened at $41.91 on Friday. Veracyte, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.61 and a 12-month high of $46.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -279.40 and a beta of 1.71. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.51.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.23, for a total transaction of $302,610.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 114,037 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,929,819.51. The trade was a 5.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Jonathan Wygant sold 956 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.36, for a total value of $41,452.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 40,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,746,107.20. This trade represents a 2.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 14,038 shares of company stock worth $605,297. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on VCYT. Leerink Partners lifted their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $37.00 price target (down from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective 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. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Veracyte from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on Veracyte in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.13.

Veracyte Company 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.