Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 667.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 435,761 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 379,014 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.55% of Veracyte worth $14,960,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in VCYT. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc grew its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc now owns 409,601 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $14,062,000 after acquiring an additional 105,721 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its position in Veracyte by 178.4% during the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 37,118 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,003,000 after acquiring an additional 23,785 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in shares of Veracyte by 1,279.9% in the second quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 8,031 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $217,000 after buying an additional 7,449 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Veracyte during the third quarter valued at approximately $839,000. Finally, Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 148.8% in the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 22,065 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $757,000 after acquiring an additional 13,196 shares in the last quarter.

Veracyte Stock Performance

VCYT stock opened at $36.73 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $42.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.94. Veracyte, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.61 and a 52-week high of $50.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 96.66 and a beta of 1.91.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on VCYT. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Veracyte from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Veracyte from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.14.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John Leite sold 1,278 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.51, for a total transaction of $60,717.78. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 82,113 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,901,188.63. The trade was a 1.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Annie Mcguire sold 10,739 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.13, for a total value of $463,173.07. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 67,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,922,488.80. This represents a 13.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 68,299 shares of company stock worth $3,102,756. Company 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.