PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Increases Stake in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,439 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 2,115 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Veracyte were worth $1,007,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Veracyte by 116.3% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 833,754 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $33,017,000 after buying an additional 448,251 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in Veracyte in the third quarter valued at approximately $9,498,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in Veracyte by 288.6% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 360,871 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $12,284,000 after buying an additional 268,000 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in Veracyte by 276.4% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 301,652 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $10,268,000 after buying an additional 221,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Castleark Management LLC acquired a new position in Veracyte in the third quarter valued at approximately $6,010,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on VCYT shares. UBS Group upped their target price on Veracyte from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $37.00 price objective (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $51.00 price target on shares of Veracyte in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Veracyte from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, StockNews.com cut 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 given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Veracyte has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.00.

Insider Activity

In other Veracyte news, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.30, for a total transaction of $403,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $745,429.10. This represents a 35.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Veracyte Stock Up 3.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ VCYT opened at $31.51 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $39.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a P/E ratio of -210.07 and a beta of 1.80. Veracyte, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.61 and a 52-week high of $47.32.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The biotechnology company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $118.63 million during 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 prior year, the company posted ($0.39) EPS. On average, analysts anticipate 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.