Xponance Inc. Purchases Shares of 6,490 Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

Xponance Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,490 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 22,276 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $882,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Veracyte by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 16,630 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $659,000 after buying an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Veracyte by 34.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,909 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 485 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Veracyte by 57.4% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.30, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 35.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

VCYT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $51.00 price target on shares of Veracyte in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $37.00 price target (down from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Veracyte from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.40.

Veracyte Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of VCYT opened at $30.12 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $37.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.69. The firm has a market cap of $2.35 billion, a PE ratio of -200.80 and a beta of 1.80. Veracyte, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.61 and a 12-month 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 the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $118.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 last year, the firm posted ($0.39) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Veracyte Company 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.