Champlain Investment Partners LLC Has $31.69 Million Stock Holdings in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

Champlain Investment Partners LLC trimmed its stake in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Free Report) by 68.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 800,355 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 1,731,125 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC owned about 1.03% of Veracyte worth $31,694,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Veracyte during the third quarter valued at about $554,000. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the 4th quarter worth approximately $580,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Veracyte by 138.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 146,402 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $4,983,000 after acquiring an additional 85,033 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Veracyte by 116.3% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 833,754 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $33,017,000 after purchasing an additional 448,251 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in Veracyte by 44.6% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,872 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $153,000 after buying an additional 1,195 shares in the last quarter.

Veracyte Stock Performance

Shares of Veracyte stock traded up $0.80 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $31.93. The company had a trading volume of 311,116 shares, compared to its average volume of 859,463. The company has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -212.87 and a beta of 2.03. Veracyte, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $19.09 and a fifty-two week high of $47.32. The firm's fifty day moving average is $32.79 and its 200-day moving average is $37.35.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The biotechnology company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $118.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $110.73 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.39) EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on VCYT shares. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Veracyte from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com downgraded Veracyte from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Craig Hallum initiated coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price target on Veracyte from $45.00 to $37.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $42.60.

About Veracyte

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.