Caprock Group LLC Sells 555 Shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

Caprock Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 7.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,852 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 555 shares during the quarter. Caprock Group LLC’s holdings in Veracyte were worth $271,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of VCYT. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Veracyte by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,916,515 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $99,278,000 after acquiring an additional 7,920 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 113,883 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC boosted its holdings in Veracyte by 19.0% during the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 444,299 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $15,124,000 after purchasing an additional 71,086 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in Veracyte by 288.6% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 360,871 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $12,284,000 after purchasing an additional 268,000 shares in the last quarter.

Veracyte Stock Performance

Shares of Veracyte stock opened at $43.50 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -290.00 and a beta of 1.71. Veracyte, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.61 and a 52-week high of $47.32. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $42.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.94.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $115.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.81 million. Veracyte had a negative net margin of 2.18% and a positive return on equity of 3.02%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 28.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.03) earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity 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 value of $403,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,497 shares in the company, valued at $745,429.10. This represents a 35.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Leite sold 1,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.25, for a total transaction of $45,412.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 73,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,192,282.50. The trade was a 1.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,565 shares of company stock worth $1,031,406. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

VCYT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Veracyte in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim initiated coverage on Veracyte in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Veracyte from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $37.00 price target (down from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.00.

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.