AQR Capital Management LLC Sells 9,544 Shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

AQR Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 14.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,417 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 9,544 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.08% of Veracyte worth $1,266,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Veracyte by 3.7% in 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 last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 7.8% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 3,347,436 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $74,179,000 after buying an additional 242,760 shares during the last quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 32.1% during the fourth quarter. Granahan Investment Management LLC now owns 503,898 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $13,862,000 after buying an additional 122,574 shares during the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY grew its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 46.3% during the first quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,115,806 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $24,726,000 after buying an additional 353,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Veracyte by 232.3% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 272,176 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $6,050,000 after purchasing an additional 190,262 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John Leite sold 1,277 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $31,925.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 82,968 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,074,200. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Veracyte news, insider John Leite sold 1,277 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $31,925.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 82,968 shares in the company, valued at $2,074,200. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Evan/ Fa Jones sold 20,457 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total transaction of $658,715.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 34,343 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,105,844.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 45,918 shares of company stock valued at $1,399,541. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on VCYT shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price target for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $31.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Veracyte has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.75.

Veracyte Trading Up 1.1 %

VCYT stock opened at $32.27 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $31.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.95. Veracyte, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.61 and a 12 month high of $35.51. The company has a market cap of $2.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -34.33 and a beta of 1.67.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.03) by $0.10. Veracyte had a negative net margin of 13.52% and a positive return on equity of 1.52%. The business had revenue of $114.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $100.27 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.12) EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.16 earnings per share for the current year.

About Veracyte

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.