Legal & General Group Plc Sells 87,705 Shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its holdings in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 18.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 375,499 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 87,705 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Veracyte were worth $14,870,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VCYT. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Veracyte during the 3rd quarter valued at about $554,000. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in Veracyte during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $580,000. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Veracyte by 138.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 146,402 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,983,000 after acquiring an additional 85,033 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 116.3% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 833,754 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $33,017,000 after acquiring an additional 448,251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 44.6% in the 4th 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.

Veracyte Stock Performance

VCYT opened at $31.76 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $33.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.42. Veracyte, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.61 and a 52-week high of $47.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.48 billion, a PE ratio of -211.73 and a beta of 2.03.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The biotechnology company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $118.63 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $110.73 million. Veracyte had a negative net margin of 2.18% and a positive return on equity of 3.02%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.39) EPS. Research analysts forecast that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VCYT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Craig Hallum initiated coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Veracyte from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com lowered Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on Veracyte from $45.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of Veracyte in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.60.

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.