Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Purchases 16,126 Shares of Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its position in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 15.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 122,636 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 16,126 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Veracyte were worth $4,210,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in shares of Veracyte in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Veracyte during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Veracyte by 289.9% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 893 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 74.8% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,824 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 1,208 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Veracyte during the third quarter worth approximately $107,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VCYT. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Veracyte from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Veracyte from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Veracyte from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Veracyte currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.14.

Veracyte Stock Down 1.9%

Veracyte stock opened at $39.80 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a PE ratio of 104.74 and a beta of 1.88. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $43.54 and its 200 day moving average is $36.12. Veracyte, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.61 and a 12-month high of $50.71.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The biotechnology company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by $0.19. Veracyte had a return on equity of 7.23% and a net margin of 6.12%.The business had revenue of $131.87 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $124.62 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.33 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Veracyte

In related news, Director Jens Holstein sold 10,000 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.36, for a total transaction of $423,600.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 27,199 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,152,149.64. The trade was a 26.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Evan/ Fa Jones sold 43,196 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.06, for a total transaction of $1,946,411.76. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 30,468 shares in the company, valued at $1,372,888.08. This represents a 58.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 134,635 shares of company stock valued at $5,981,961. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Veracyte Company Profile

Veracyte, Inc is a genomic diagnostics company focused on improving diagnostic accuracy and patient care through advanced molecular testing. Founded in 2008 and headquartered in South San Francisco, California, the company develops and commercializes minimally invasive genomic tests that aid in the diagnosis of thyroid, lung and other diseases. Veracyte’s proprietary platform analyzes gene expression patterns in clinical samples to help physicians make more informed treatment decisions, reducing unnecessary surgeries and improving patient outcomes.

The company’s flagship product, the Afirma Genomic Sequencing Classifier, is designed to assess thyroid nodules with indeterminate cytology, helping clinicians distinguish benign from suspicious nodules.