Algert Global LLC Increases Holdings in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

Algert Global LLC raised its stake in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 411.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 201,697 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after buying an additional 162,236 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC owned about 0.26% of Veracyte worth $6,866,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VCYT. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Veracyte during the 2nd quarter valued at $12,279,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Veracyte by 67.4% during the 2nd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,241,671 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $26,907,000 after buying an additional 500,020 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in Veracyte by 288.6% during the 3rd 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. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Veracyte by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,384,871 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $163,649,000 after buying an additional 266,660 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in Veracyte during the 3rd quarter valued at $4,681,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on VCYT shares. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Veracyte from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Veracyte from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Veracyte from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Guggenheim started coverage on Veracyte in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Veracyte in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Veracyte currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.25.

Veracyte Stock Performance

Shares of VCYT stock opened at $39.59 on Friday. Veracyte, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.61 and a 52-week high of $41.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a PE ratio of -263.93 and a beta of 1.67. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $34.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.25.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.16. Veracyte had a positive return on equity of 3.02% and a negative net margin of 2.18%. The business had revenue of $115.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.81 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted ($0.03) EPS. Veracyte’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Veracyte Company Profile

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.