Proficio Capital Partners LLC Acquires New Holdings in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 29,779 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,179,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in Veracyte by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 71,382 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $2,827,000 after buying an additional 10,121 shares in the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH purchased a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the fourth quarter valued at $288,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 432.7% during the fourth quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 4,816 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $191,000 after acquiring an additional 3,912 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 49.7% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 714 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its position in Veracyte by 57.4% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,774 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on VCYT shares. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Veracyte from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $51.00 target price on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Craig Hallum began coverage on Veracyte in a report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com lowered Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.22.

Veracyte Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ VCYT opened at $31.84 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a PE ratio of -212.27 and a beta of 1.80. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $38.72 and a 200-day moving average of $37.61. Veracyte, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.61 and a 52-week high of $47.32.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The biotechnology company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $118.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $110.73 million. Veracyte had a positive return on equity of 3.02% and a negative net margin of 2.18%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.39) earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Veracyte news, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.30, for a total value of $403,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 is available 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.