Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Shares Purchased by Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 6.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 112,895 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,648 shares during the quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV owned about 0.15% of Veracyte worth $2,446,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Veracyte by 3.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,384,871 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $163,649,000 after purchasing an additional 266,660 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Veracyte by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 3,347,436 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $74,179,000 after buying an additional 242,760 shares during the period. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. boosted its holdings in Veracyte by 7.8% in the first quarter. Nikko Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 3,347,436 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $74,012,000 after acquiring an additional 242,760 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Veracyte by 23.3% in the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,697,600 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $59,779,000 after acquiring an additional 509,340 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its position in Veracyte by 67.4% during the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,241,671 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $26,907,000 after acquiring an additional 500,020 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VCYT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Veracyte from $31.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Veracyte from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Veracyte news, Director Evan/ Fa Jones sold 5,173 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.23, for a total transaction of $182,244.79. Following the transaction, the director now owns 34,343 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,209,903.89. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, insider John Leite sold 5,479 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.78, for a total transaction of $163,164.62. Following the sale, the insider now owns 76,174 shares in the company, valued at $2,268,461.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Evan/ Fa Jones sold 5,173 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.23, for a total transaction of $182,244.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,343 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,209,903.89. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 45,918 shares of company stock worth $1,399,541. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Veracyte Stock Performance

NASDAQ:VCYT opened at $34.26 on Tuesday. Veracyte, Inc. has a one year low of $18.61 and a one year high of $35.51. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.94. The stock has a market cap of $2.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.45 and a beta of 1.66.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.10. The business had revenue of $114.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $100.27 million. Veracyte had a negative net margin of 13.52% and a positive return on equity of 1.52%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 26.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.12) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.16 EPS for the current year.

Veracyte Profile

Veracyte, Inc operates as a diagnostics company in the United States and internationally. The company offers Afirma Genomic Sequencing Classifier for cancerous thyroid nodules; Decipher Prostate Biopsy and Radical Prostatectomy for prostate cancer diagnosis; Prosigna Breast Cancer Assay for breast cancer diagnosis; Percepta Nasal Swab Test for lung cancer diagnosis; and Envisia Genomic Classifier for diagnosing interstitial lung disease, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.