US Bancorp DE Purchases 647 Shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

US Bancorp DE grew its position in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 57.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,774 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Veracyte were worth $70,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,677 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $91,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in Veracyte during the third quarter valued at approximately $290,000. Caprock Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $252,000. Phocas Financial Corp. purchased a new position in shares of Veracyte in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,788,000. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC increased its position in shares of Veracyte by 19.0% during the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 444,299 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $15,124,000 after purchasing an additional 71,086 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction that occurred 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 trade represents a 35.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

VCYT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of Veracyte in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $37.00 price target (down from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Veracyte from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Veracyte from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.00.

Veracyte Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VCYT opened at $31.23 on Tuesday. Veracyte, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.61 and a 52-week high of $47.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -208.20 and a beta of 1.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $39.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.69.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The biotechnology company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $118.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 business earned ($0.39) EPS. Analysts forecast that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current year.

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.