Legal & General Group Plc Takes $50.40 Million Position in Veracyte, Inc. $VCYT

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYTFree Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 858,136 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,398,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Veracyte by 289.9% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,201 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 893 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Veracyte in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Veracyte in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 159.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,104 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP purchased a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the second quarter worth approximately $50,000.

Insider Activity at Veracyte

In related news, EVP Annie Mcguire sold 3,176 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.76, for a total transaction of $158,037.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 137,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,829,062.40. The trade was a 2.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider John Leite sold 13,975 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.07, for a total value of $699,728.25. Following the sale, the insider owned 132,305 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,624,511.35. The trade was a 9.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders sold 162,492 shares of company stock valued at $8,151,197. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Veracyte Trading Down 4.2%

Shares of Veracyte stock opened at $43.34 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.74 and a beta of 1.95. Veracyte, Inc. has a 1-year low of $29.38 and a 1-year high of $60.91.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYTGet Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The biotechnology company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $150.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.59 million. Veracyte had a net margin of 20.37% and a return on equity of 9.26%. Veracyte’s revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.44 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Veracyte, Inc. will post 1.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on VCYT shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Veracyte from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Stephens dropped their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $68.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of Veracyte from $57.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Veracyte from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on shares of Veracyte from $66.00 to $54.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $54.33.

Read Our Latest Report on VCYT

Veracyte Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT)

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