Summit Creek Advisors LLC Invests $8.52 Million in Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT

Summit Creek Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 248,125 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,518,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in Veracyte by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 71,095 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,922,000 after buying an additional 566 shares in the last quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 4.6% during the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 17,991 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $486,000 after acquiring an additional 790 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 4.0% during the second quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 22,732 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $614,000 after acquiring an additional 865 shares in the last quarter. Huntleigh Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Veracyte by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Huntleigh Advisors Inc. now owns 21,809 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 876 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Veracyte by 289.9% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 893 shares during the last quarter.

Veracyte Price Performance

VCYT stock opened at $42.05 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 110.66 and a beta of 1.88. Veracyte, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.61 and a 12 month high of $50.71. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $43.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.86.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The biotechnology company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.19. Veracyte had a net margin of 6.12% and a return on equity of 7.23%. The firm had revenue of $131.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $124.62 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.33 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Veracyte from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Zacks Research upgraded Veracyte from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price target on Veracyte from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veracyte

In related news, Director Evan/ Fa Jones sold 43,196 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.06, for a total transaction of $1,946,411.76. Following the sale, the director directly owned 30,468 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,372,888.08. This trade represents a 58.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 13,278 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.84, for a total value of $621,941.52. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 109,496 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,128,792.64. This represents a 10.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 134,635 shares of company stock worth $5,981,961. 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.