Geode Capital Management LLC Raises Holdings in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Free Report) by 1.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,844,713 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after acquiring an additional 17,921 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.38% of Veracyte worth $62,806,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Veracyte by 2,331.6% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,386 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 1,329 shares during the period. Castleview Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Veracyte during the third quarter valued at approximately $87,000. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Veracyte in the 3rd quarter worth $91,000. KBC Group NV raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the 2nd quarter valued at about $58,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on VCYT. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Veracyte from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Veracyte in a report on Thursday, October 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank raised their target price on Veracyte from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $37.00 price target (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Leerink Partners raised their price objective on Veracyte from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Veracyte presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $41.13.

Veracyte Trading Up 4.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ VCYT traded up $1.82 during trading on Friday, reaching $40.89. 2,010,201 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 773,634. The stock has a market cap of $3.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -272.60 and a beta of 1.69. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $38.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.31. Veracyte, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.61 and a 12-month high of $46.00.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $115.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.81 million. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.03) earnings per share. Veracyte's quarterly revenue was up 28.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Veracyte

In related news, CAO Jonathan Wygant sold 956 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.36, for a total value of $41,452.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 40,270 shares in the company, valued at $1,746,107.20. The trade was a 2.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John Leite sold 1,050 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.25, for a total value of $45,412.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 73,810 shares in the company, valued at $3,192,282.50. This represents a 1.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,038 shares of company stock worth $605,297 in the last three months. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Veracyte 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.