Axa S.A. Cuts Stake in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

Axa S.A. cut its holdings in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 49.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,103 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 61,999 shares during the period. Axa S.A.’s holdings in Veracyte were worth $2,499,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 138.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 146,402 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,983,000 after buying an additional 85,033 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Veracyte by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 261,214 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $10,415,000 after purchasing an additional 11,078 shares in the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new stake in Veracyte in the 4th quarter worth $1,379,000. Legal Advantage Investments Inc. bought a new position in shares of Veracyte during the 4th quarter valued at about $250,000. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Veracyte by 44.6% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,872 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $153,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on VCYT. UBS Group dropped their price target on Veracyte from $49.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on shares of Veracyte from $51.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Craig Hallum started coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $45.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.90.

Veracyte Stock Performance

VCYT opened at $31.21 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $31.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.11. Veracyte, Inc. has a one year low of $19.73 and a one year high of $47.32. The stock has a market cap of $2.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -208.07 and a beta of 2.14.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The biotechnology company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $118.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $110.73 million. Veracyte had a positive return on equity of 3.02% and a negative net margin of 2.18%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.39) earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Veracyte Profile

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.