IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd Acquires 8,615 Shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd grew its holdings in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 90.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 18,156 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,615 shares during the quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd’s holdings in Veracyte were worth $719,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of VCYT. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Veracyte by 49.7% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 714 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 57.4% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,774 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Veracyte in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $91,000. Finally, Bellevue Group AG acquired a new stake in Veracyte in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $123,000.

Veracyte Stock Down 3.2 %

Veracyte stock opened at $30.12 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $37.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.69. Veracyte, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.61 and a 12 month high of $47.32. The stock has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -200.80 and a beta of 1.80.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The biotechnology company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $118.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $110.73 million. Veracyte had a positive return on equity of 3.02% and a negative net margin of 2.18%. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.39) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Veracyte

In other news, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.30, for a total value of $403,000.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on VCYT. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Veracyte from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $37.00 price target (down from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $51.00 target price on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Veracyte has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.40.

Veracyte Company 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.