HighTower Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 16,325 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $554,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Veracyte by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,677 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Veracyte by 2.1% in the second quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 16,462 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Veracyte by 21.7% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,778 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 3.7% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 20,806 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $451,000 after acquiring an additional 733 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Veracyte by 5.7% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 21,823 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $473,000 after purchasing an additional 1,173 shares in the last quarter.

Veracyte Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VCYT traded up $1.82 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $40.89. 2,010,201 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 773,634. Veracyte, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.61 and a twelve month high of $46.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -272.60 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.24.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $115.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.81 million. Veracyte had a positive return on equity of 3.02% and a negative net margin of 2.18%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 28.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.03) earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Veracyte from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Veracyte from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Veracyte in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $50.00 price objective for the company. Leerink Partners boosted their target price on Veracyte from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on Veracyte from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One 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 target price of $41.13.

Insider Activity at Veracyte

In other Veracyte news, CAO Jonathan Wygant sold 956 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.36, for a total value of $41,452.16. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 40,270 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,746,107.20. The trade was a 2.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Rebecca Chambers sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.23, for a total value of $302,610.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 114,037 shares in the company, valued at $4,929,819.51. This trade represents a 5.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 14,038 shares of company stock worth $605,297. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

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.