Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Acquires Shares of 10,925 Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 10,925 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $433,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VCYT. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of Veracyte by 49.7% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 714 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Veracyte by 57.4% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,774 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 34.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,909 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Veracyte in the 4th quarter valued at $91,000. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Veracyte by 44.6% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,872 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 1,195 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on VCYT. Craig Hallum started coverage on Veracyte in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Veracyte from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Veracyte has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.40.

Veracyte Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ VCYT opened at $28.95 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $36.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.64. The firm has a market cap of $2.26 billion, a PE ratio of -193.00 and a beta of 2.03. Veracyte, Inc. has a 1-year low of $18.61 and a 1-year high of $47.32.

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

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.