Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 28,905 Shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 33.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 56,538 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after selling 28,905 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Veracyte were worth $2,239,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of VCYT. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Veracyte by 116.3% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 833,754 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $33,017,000 after acquiring an additional 448,251 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new stake in Veracyte in the 3rd quarter valued at $9,498,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Veracyte by 288.6% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 360,871 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $12,284,000 after acquiring an additional 268,000 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in Veracyte by 276.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 301,652 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $10,268,000 after acquiring an additional 221,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Castleark Management LLC bought a new stake in Veracyte in the 3rd quarter valued at $6,010,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on VCYT. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $51.00 price objective on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Veracyte has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

Veracyte Trading Down 0.9 %

VCYT stock opened at $31.23 on Tuesday. Veracyte, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.61 and a 12 month high of $47.32. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $39.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.69. The stock has a market cap of $2.43 billion, a PE ratio of -208.20 and a beta of 1.80.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The biotechnology company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.07. Veracyte had a negative net margin of 2.18% and a positive return on equity of 3.02%. The firm had revenue of $118.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $110.73 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.39) EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Veracyte news, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.30, for a total value of $403,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $745,429.10. The trade was a 35.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.