Great Lakes Advisors LLC Sells 48,001 Shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Free Report) by 34.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 90,117 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 48,001 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned about 0.12% of Veracyte worth $3,569,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 49.7% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 714 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE raised its position in shares of Veracyte by 57.4% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,774 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Veracyte by 34.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,909 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Veracyte during the fourth quarter worth $91,000. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Veracyte by 13.7% during 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.

Veracyte Price Performance

Veracyte stock traded up $0.54 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $31.78. The company had a trading volume of 635,289 shares, compared to its average volume of 802,031. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $39.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.69. The firm has a market cap of $2.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -211.87 and a beta of 1.80. Veracyte, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.61 and a 12-month high of $47.32.

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Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The biotechnology company reported $0.36 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $110.73 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.39) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Veracyte

In related news, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.30, for a total transaction of $403,000.00. Following the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $51.00 price objective on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $37.00 price objective (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a report on Thursday, December 5th. StockNews.com cut Veracyte from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of Veracyte in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Veracyte from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.00.

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.