Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. Makes New Investment in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. acquired a new stake in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 137,501 shares of the biotechnology company's stock, valued at approximately $4,681,000. Veracyte makes up 1.6% of Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Peregrine Asset Advisers Inc. owned 0.18% of Veracyte at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in VCYT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Veracyte by 3.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,384,871 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $163,649,000 after purchasing an additional 266,660 shares in the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY lifted its position in Veracyte by 46.3% during the first quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 1,115,806 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $24,726,000 after acquiring an additional 353,000 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Veracyte by 21.2% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 142,604 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $3,160,000 after buying an additional 24,945 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 21.8% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 87,555 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $1,897,000 after purchasing an additional 15,647 shares during the period. Finally, Diversified Trust Co increased its position in Veracyte by 22.7% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 28,060 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $608,000 after purchasing an additional 5,200 shares during the period.

Veracyte Trading Up 5.0 %

VCYT traded up $1.82 during trading on Monday, hitting $38.30. 539,343 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 762,580. The company has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a PE ratio of -243.20 and a beta of 1.67. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $33.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.08. Veracyte, Inc. has a 1 year low of $18.61 and a 1 year high of $41.43.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $115.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.81 million. Veracyte had a negative net margin of 2.18% and a positive return on equity of 3.07%. Veracyte's revenue was up 28.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.03) earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.16 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Veracyte news, Director Evan/ Fa Jones sold 20,457 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total value of $658,715.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 34,343 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,105,844.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Evan/ Fa Jones sold 20,457 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total transaction of $658,715.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,343 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,105,844.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John Leite sold 5,479 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.78, for a total transaction of $163,164.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,268,461.72. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 31,109 shares of company stock valued at $1,004,125. Insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on VCYT. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Veracyte from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Guggenheim began coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Veracyte from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Leerink Partners raised their price objective on Veracyte from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $39.71.

About Veracyte

Veracyte, Inc operates as a diagnostics company in the United States and internationally. The company offers Afirma Genomic Sequencing Classifier for cancerous thyroid nodules; Decipher Prostate Biopsy and Radical Prostatectomy for prostate cancer diagnosis; Prosigna Breast Cancer Assay for breast cancer diagnosis; Percepta Nasal Swab Test for lung cancer diagnosis; and Envisia Genomic Classifier for diagnosing interstitial lung disease, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.