EFG Asset Management North America Corp. Increases Holdings in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

EFG Asset Management North America Corp. raised its stake in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 206,227 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,973 shares during the quarter. Veracyte accounts for about 1.1% of EFG Asset Management North America Corp.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. EFG Asset Management North America Corp.’s holdings in Veracyte were worth $8,163,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of VCYT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,211,612 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $325,180,000 after purchasing an additional 463,098 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Veracyte by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,916,515 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $99,278,000 after buying an additional 7,920 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 1.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,844,713 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $62,806,000 after acquiring an additional 17,921 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Veracyte by 116.3% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 833,754 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $33,017,000 after acquiring an additional 448,251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 785,971 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $31,124,000 after acquiring an additional 3,111 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veracyte

In other news, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.30, for a total transaction of $403,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $745,429.10. The trade was a 35.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Veracyte Stock Up 4.2 %

Shares of VCYT stock opened at $33.16 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $38.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.74. The company has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -221.07 and a beta of 1.80. Veracyte, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.61 and a 52 week high of $47.32.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its earnings results 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 positive return on equity of 3.02% and a negative net margin of 2.18%. The firm had revenue of $118.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $110.73 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.39) earnings per share. Analysts expect that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

VCYT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Craig Hallum assumed coverage on Veracyte in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $51.00 price target on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Veracyte from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $37.00 price target (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.22.

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.