Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Takes $846,000 Position in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 21,361 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $846,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Veracyte by 34.1% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,909 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Veracyte during the fourth quarter valued at $91,000. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Veracyte by 13.7% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,677 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Veracyte by 21.7% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,778 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bellevue Group AG purchased a new position in Veracyte during the third quarter valued at $123,000.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Jonathan Wygant sold 956 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.36, for a total transaction of $41,452.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.30, for a total transaction of $403,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $745,429.10. This represents a 35.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,533 shares of company stock valued at $815,584. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on VCYT. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Tuesday. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Veracyte from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $51.00 target price on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Veracyte presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.00.

Veracyte Stock Down 4.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VCYT opened at $33.84 on Friday. 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 $2.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -225.60 and a beta of 1.71. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $37.61.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The biotechnology company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $110.73 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.39) EPS. On average, analysts expect that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current year.

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.