Profund Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT

Profund Advisors LLC grew its stake in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 49.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 34,667 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,505 shares during the quarter. Profund Advisors LLC’s holdings in Veracyte were worth $1,459,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Veracyte during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Veracyte by 289.9% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 893 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Veracyte by 146.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,454 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 864 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in Veracyte during the 3rd quarter worth $56,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 74.8% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 2,824 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 1,208 shares during the period.

Insider Activity at Veracyte

In related news, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 18,341 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.14, for a total value of $662,843.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 131,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,741,423.44. This trade represents a 12.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marc Stapley sold 45,523 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.97, for a total value of $1,637,462.31. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 357,554 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,861,217.38. This represents a 11.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 85,986 shares of company stock valued at $3,120,257. 1.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Veracyte from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $48.00 price target on shares of Veracyte in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Canaccord Genuity Group raised their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Veracyte in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Veracyte from $48.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.83.

Veracyte Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VCYT opened at $45.19 on Thursday. Veracyte, Inc. has a one year low of $22.61 and a one year high of $50.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.46 and a beta of 1.89. The company’s fifty day moving average is $34.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.53.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The biotechnology company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.18. Veracyte had a net margin of 16.25% and a return on equity of 9.07%. The business had revenue of $139.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $130.36 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.31 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.