QRG Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 139,650 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 4,834 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Veracyte were worth $5,530,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 34.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,909 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in Veracyte by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,677 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Veracyte during the 4th quarter valued at about $91,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Veracyte by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,778 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bellevue Group AG purchased a new position in Veracyte in the third quarter worth about $123,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Veracyte in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wolfe Research began coverage on Veracyte in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Veracyte from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Veracyte from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Veracyte presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.00.

Insider Transactions at Veracyte

In related news, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 7,000 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.23, for a total transaction of $302,610.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 114,037 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,929,819.51. The trade was a 5.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Jonathan Wygant sold 956 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.36, for a total value of $41,452.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 40,270 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,746,107.20. The trade was a 2.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,533 shares of company stock worth $815,584 in the last 90 days. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Veracyte Stock Performance

VCYT stock opened at $34.76 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -231.73 and a beta of 1.71. The business’s 50-day moving average is $41.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.59. Veracyte, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.61 and a fifty-two week high of $47.32.

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