Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Boosts Stake in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership boosted its position in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Free Report) by 31.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,599,264 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,576,432 shares during the quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned 8.52% of Veracyte worth $261,331,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the 3rd quarter valued at $554,000. Eventide Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Veracyte by 20.2% in the third quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 677,883 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $23,075,000 after buying an additional 113,883 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new stake in Veracyte in the third quarter valued at $574,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new stake in Veracyte in the third quarter valued at $820,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Veracyte during the 3rd quarter worth about $723,000.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $745,429.10. The trade was a 35.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on VCYT shares. 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. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Veracyte in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $37.00 target price (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $51.00 price target on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Craig Hallum began coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $45.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $43.40.

Veracyte Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of VCYT traded down $0.61 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $29.51. 177,778 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 833,310. Veracyte, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.61 and a fifty-two week high of $47.32. The business's 50 day moving average is $37.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -196.67 and a beta of 1.80.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The biotechnology company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.07. Veracyte had a positive return on equity of 3.02% and a negative net margin of 2.18%. The firm had revenue of $118.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $110.73 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.39) EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current 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.