Legal & General Group Plc Sells 87,705 Shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its position in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Free Report) by 18.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 375,499 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 87,705 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.48% of Veracyte worth $14,870,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of VCYT. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Veracyte by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 329,568 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $13,051,000 after acquiring an additional 7,042 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Veracyte by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,486 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $524,000 after purchasing an additional 814 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Veracyte by 13,322.8% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 122,013 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $4,832,000 after buying an additional 121,104 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Veracyte by 233.3% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 65,541 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $2,595,000 after buying an additional 45,876 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in Veracyte during the 4th quarter valued at $424,000.

Veracyte Price Performance

Veracyte stock traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $30.86. The stock had a trading volume of 50,753 shares, compared to its average volume of 857,906. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $37.41. The stock has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a PE ratio of -205.70 and a beta of 2.03. Veracyte, Inc. has a 52 week low of $19.09 and a 52 week high of $47.32.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The biotechnology company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $118.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $110.73 million. Veracyte had a positive return on equity of 3.02% and a negative net margin of 2.18%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.39) EPS. Research analysts predict that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Veracyte from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $51.00 target price on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Guggenheim cut their price objective on Veracyte from $45.00 to $37.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Craig Hallum initiated coverage on Veracyte in a report on Thursday, March 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $45.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Veracyte currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.