Ieq Capital LLC Purchases New Position in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 14,657 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $580,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 13.7% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,677 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 34.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,909 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 21.7% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,778 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in Veracyte by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 123,324 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $4,884,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtus Fund Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Veracyte by 32.9% during the third quarter. Virtus Fund Advisers LLC now owns 4,798 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 1,189 shares in the last quarter.

Veracyte Trading Up 6.2 %

Shares of VCYT opened at $35.53 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $41.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.63. Veracyte, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.61 and a twelve month high of $47.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.75 billion, a P/E ratio of -236.87 and a beta of 1.71.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The biotechnology company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $118.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.39) earnings per share. Analysts predict that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on VCYT. StockNews.com cut shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Veracyte in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Veracyte from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Veracyte in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.23, for a total value of $302,610.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 114,037 shares in the company, valued at $4,929,819.51. This represents a 5.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Leite sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.25, for a total transaction of $45,412.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 73,810 shares in the company, valued at $3,192,282.50. This represents a 1.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,533 shares of company stock worth $815,584 over the last ninety days. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Veracyte

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.