Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lessened its holdings in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,104,676 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 68,900 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Veracyte were worth $85,410,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $506,000. ARK Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Veracyte by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 7,655,603 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $210,606,000 after purchasing an additional 62,011 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Veracyte by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 14,810 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $407,000 after acquiring an additional 575 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its stake in shares of Veracyte by 55.5% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 166,732 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $3,723,000 after acquiring an additional 59,484 shares in the last quarter. Finally, China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Veracyte by 96.2% during the 3rd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,862 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 913 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.00.

Veracyte Stock Performance

Shares of Veracyte stock opened at $18.86 on Thursday. Veracyte, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.73 and a 12-month high of $30.52. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.01.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The biotechnology company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.07) by $0.03. Veracyte had a negative net margin of 20.61% and a negative return on equity of 2.02%. The business had revenue of $98.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $95.49 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Veracyte, Inc. will post -0.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veracyte

In other news, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.65, for a total value of $216,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 33,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $717,156.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Veracyte Profile

Veracyte, Inc operates as a diagnostics company in the United States and internationally. The company offers Afirma Genomic Sequencing Classifier for cancerous thyroid nodules; Decipher Prostate Biopsy and Radical Prostatectomy for prostate cancer diagnosis; Prosigna Breast Cancer Assay for breast cancer diagnosis; Percepta Nasal Swab Test for lung cancer diagnosis; and Envisia Genomic Classifier for diagnosing interstitial lung disease, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.