Algert Global LLC Acquires 162,236 Shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

Algert Global LLC lifted its holdings in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 411.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 201,697 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 162,236 shares during the quarter. Algert Global LLC’s holdings in Veracyte were worth $6,866,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,384,871 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $163,649,000 after acquiring an additional 266,660 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its position in Veracyte by 67.4% in the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,241,671 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $26,907,000 after purchasing an additional 500,020 shares during the period. Granite Investment Partners LLC raised its position in Veracyte by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 934,994 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $20,261,000 after purchasing an additional 19,244 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp raised its position in Veracyte by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 625,536 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $13,555,000 after purchasing an additional 7,219 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Veracyte in the 2nd quarter worth about $12,279,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on VCYT. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Guggenheim initiated coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Veracyte from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.25.

Insider Activity at Veracyte

In other Veracyte news, Director Evan/ Fa Jones sold 5,173 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.23, for a total value of $182,244.79. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 34,343 shares in the company, valued at $1,209,903.89. This trade represents a 13.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John Leite sold 5,479 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.78, for a total transaction of $163,164.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 76,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,268,461.72. This trade represents a 6.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Veracyte Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of VCYT stock opened at $39.59 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -263.93 and a beta of 1.67. The company’s 50 day moving average is $34.89 and its 200 day moving average is $28.25. Veracyte, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.61 and a 52-week high of $41.43.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $115.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.81 million. Veracyte had a negative net margin of 2.18% and a positive return on equity of 3.02%. Veracyte’s revenue was up 28.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted ($0.03) earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Veracyte

Veracyte, Inc operates as a diagnostics company in the United States and internationally. The company offers Afirma Genomic Sequencing Classifier for cancerous thyroid nodules; Decipher Prostate Biopsy and Radical Prostatectomy for prostate cancer diagnosis; Prosigna Breast Cancer Assay for breast cancer diagnosis; Percepta Nasal Swab Test for lung cancer diagnosis; and Envisia Genomic Classifier for diagnosing interstitial lung disease, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.