Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 151,056 Shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP decreased its position in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,882,734 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 151,056 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 3.72% of Veracyte worth $114,158,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Veracyte by 138.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 146,402 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,983,000 after purchasing an additional 85,033 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 22,865 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $778,000 after buying an additional 3,195 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new position in Veracyte during the third quarter valued at about $9,498,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Veracyte by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 261,214 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $10,415,000 after acquiring an additional 11,078 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB bought a new position in shares of Veracyte during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,379,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on VCYT shares. StockNews.com downgraded Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. UBS Group increased their price target on Veracyte from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $51.00 price objective on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $45.00 to $37.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Veracyte currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.60.

Veracyte Trading Up 0.3 %

Veracyte stock opened at $32.23 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.32. Veracyte, Inc. has a 1-year low of $19.48 and a 1-year high of $47.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.51 billion, a PE ratio of -214.87 and a beta of 2.03.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last released its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $118.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $110.73 million. Veracyte had a negative net margin of 2.18% and a positive return on equity of 3.02%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.39) earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current year.

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.