Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Shares Acquired by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Free Report) by 438.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 98,422 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 80,145 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned approximately 0.13% of Veracyte worth $3,350,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of VCYT. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 2,331.6% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,386 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,329 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in Veracyte by 168.3% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 951 shares in the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC bought a new stake in Veracyte during the third quarter valued at about $87,000. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Veracyte during the third quarter valued at about $91,000. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in Veracyte by 13.7% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,677 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 323 shares in the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Veracyte news, Director Evan/ Fa Jones sold 5,173 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.23, for a total transaction of $182,244.79. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 34,343 shares in the company, valued at $1,209,903.89. This represents a 13.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John Leite sold 1,050 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.25, for a total value of $45,412.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 73,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,192,282.50. The trade was a 1.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 19,211 shares of company stock worth $787,542 in the last ninety days. 1.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on VCYT shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Veracyte from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on shares of Veracyte from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Leerink Partners lifted their target price on shares of Veracyte from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Scotiabank raised 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $41.13.

Veracyte Stock Up 3.0 %

NASDAQ VCYT traded up $1.29 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $44.13. 1,076,603 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 772,239. The stock has a market cap of $3.42 billion, a PE ratio of -294.20 and a beta of 1.69. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $36.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.71. Veracyte, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.61 and a 52 week high of $46.00.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.16. Veracyte had a negative net margin of 2.18% and a positive return on equity of 3.02%. The firm had revenue of $115.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.81 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.03) EPS. The business's revenue was up 28.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current 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.