KBC Group NV Boosts Stock Position in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 44.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,872 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 1,195 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Veracyte were worth $153,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VCYT. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Veracyte by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,916,515 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $99,278,000 after purchasing an additional 7,920 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Veracyte by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,844,713 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $62,806,000 after buying an additional 17,921 shares in the last quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Veracyte by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 677,883 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $23,075,000 after buying an additional 113,883 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC boosted its holdings in Veracyte by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 444,299 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $15,124,000 after buying an additional 71,086 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Veracyte by 288.6% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter.

Veracyte Trading Down 3.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VCYT opened at $43.50 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.94. Veracyte, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.61 and a twelve month high of $47.32. The company has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a PE ratio of -290.00 and a beta of 1.71.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm’s revenue was up 28.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.03) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Veracyte

In other Veracyte news, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.23, for a total transaction of $302,610.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 114,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,929,819.51. This trade represents a 5.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.30, for a total transaction of $403,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,497 shares in the company, valued at $745,429.10. This trade represents a 35.09 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,565 shares of company stock valued at $1,031,406 in the last ninety days. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on VCYT. Wolfe Research began coverage on Veracyte in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Veracyte from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Veracyte from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Leerink Partners boosted their price target on shares of Veracyte from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.00.

About Veracyte

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.