US Bancorp DE Boosts Stock Position in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 57.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,774 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 647 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Veracyte were worth $70,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Veracyte by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,916,515 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $99,278,000 after purchasing an additional 7,920 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Veracyte by 1.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 17,921 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Veracyte by 116.3% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 833,754 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $33,017,000 after buying an additional 448,251 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 785,971 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $31,124,000 after buying an additional 3,111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eventide Asset Management LLC grew its holdings 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 last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on VCYT shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $37.00 price objective (down from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Veracyte from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Veracyte from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.00.

Veracyte Stock Performance

Shares of Veracyte stock opened at $31.23 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $39.43 and its 200 day moving average is $37.69. Veracyte, Inc. has a one year low of $18.61 and a one year high of $47.32. The stock has a market cap of $2.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -208.20 and a beta of 1.80.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.07. Veracyte had a positive return on equity of 3.02% and a negative net margin of 2.18%. The firm had revenue of $118.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $110.73 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.39) EPS. Analysts predict that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Veracyte

In related news, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was 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 owns 18,497 shares in the company, valued at approximately $745,429.10. This trade represents a 35.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

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.