29,779 Shares in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Purchased by Proficio Capital Partners LLC

Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 29,779 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,179,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Veracyte by 1.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,844,713 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $62,806,000 after purchasing an additional 17,921 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Veracyte by 116.3% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 833,754 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $33,017,000 after purchasing an additional 448,251 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in Veracyte by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 785,971 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $31,124,000 after purchasing an additional 3,111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eventide Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Veracyte by 20.2% during the third 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 during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veracyte

In other Veracyte news, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.30, for a total transaction of $403,000.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Veracyte Trading Down 1.5 %

VCYT stock opened at $32.02 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $40.61 and its 200 day moving average is $37.64. The stock has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -213.47 and a beta of 1.80. Veracyte, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.61 and a 1-year high of $47.32.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The biotechnology company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $118.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $110.73 million. Veracyte had a negative net margin of 2.18% and a positive return on equity of 3.02%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.39) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VCYT. Scotiabank upped their price target on Veracyte from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Veracyte from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. 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. 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. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Veracyte from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.00.

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.