Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT Stake Increased by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. increased its holdings in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 38.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 186,387 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 51,392 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Veracyte were worth $8,613,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Alps Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Veracyte during the third quarter worth approximately $648,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Veracyte in the 3rd quarter valued at $388,000. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Veracyte in the 3rd quarter valued at $292,000. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its stake in shares of Veracyte by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 19,764 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $910,000 after acquiring an additional 890 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 784,483 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $36,118,000 after acquiring an additional 15,534 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Veracyte

In other news, Director Karin Eastham sold 14,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.00, for a total transaction of $742,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 10,247 shares in the company, valued at $512,350. This trade represents a 59.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 3,652 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.10, for a total value of $157,401.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 166,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,155,677.50. The trade was a 2.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 62,609 shares of company stock worth $2,858,904 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Veracyte Stock Up 7.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:VCYT opened at $25.92 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.72 and a beta of 1.98. The company has a 50 day moving average of $43.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $42.78. Veracyte, Inc. has a 52-week low of $21.91 and a 52-week high of $60.91.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The biotechnology company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.10. Veracyte had a net margin of 21.80% and a return on equity of 9.13%. The business had revenue of $151.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $147.13 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Leerink Partners cut shares of Veracyte from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Veracyte from $65.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on Veracyte from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on Veracyte from $69.00 to $46.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Veracyte from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Veracyte has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.40.

Veracyte Profile

Veracyte, Inc is a genomic diagnostics company that develops tests to help clinicians diagnose disease and guide treatment decisions, with a focus on cancer and other complex conditions. Its tests analyze biological samples to provide information that can help distinguish between conditions and assess disease risk.

The company’s portfolio includes Afirma for thyroid nodule assessment, Decipher for prostate cancer, Prosigna for breast cancer, and Percepta for lung cancer. Veracyte also offers Envisia, a genomic test that supports the diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and other forms of interstitial lung disease.

Founded in 2008 and headquartered in South San Francisco, California, Veracyte serves clinicians and patients in the United States and makes certain products available in international markets.