AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc Sells 39,048 Shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc trimmed its position in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Free Report) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 675,801 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 39,048 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc owned 0.87% of Veracyte worth $26,741,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,916,515 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $99,278,000 after buying an additional 7,920 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Veracyte by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,844,713 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $62,806,000 after acquiring an additional 17,921 shares in the last quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Veracyte by 20.2% during the 3rd quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 677,883 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $23,075,000 after acquiring an additional 113,883 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Veracyte in the 2nd quarter valued at about $12,279,000. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its position in shares of Veracyte by 19.0% in the third quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 444,299 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $15,124,000 after purchasing an additional 71,086 shares in the last quarter.

Veracyte Price Performance

Shares of VCYT stock traded down $0.26 during trading on Friday, reaching $43.81. The company had a trading volume of 652,528 shares, compared to its average volume of 657,056. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $41.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.76. Veracyte, Inc. has a one year low of $18.61 and a one year high of $46.00. The company has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a PE ratio of -292.07 and a beta of 1.71.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 28.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.03) earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider John Leite sold 1,050 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.25, for a total transaction of $45,412.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 73,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,192,282.50. The trade was a 1.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Jonathan Wygant sold 956 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.36, for a total transaction of $41,452.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 40,270 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,746,107.20. This trade represents a 2.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,038 shares of company stock valued at $1,008,297 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on VCYT. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Veracyte from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Veracyte from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. StockNews.com raised Veracyte from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Veracyte in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given 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 a consensus target price of $41.13.

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.