Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Free Report) by 32.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,486 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 14,712 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Veracyte were worth $1,038,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in VCYT. Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in Veracyte by 6.9% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 8,198 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $182,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in shares of Veracyte by 3.7% during 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, CWM LLC grew its position in shares of Veracyte by 168.3% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 951 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at Veracyte

In other news, Director Evan/ Fa Jones sold 5,173 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.23, for a total value of $182,244.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 34,343 shares in the company, valued at $1,209,903.89. This trade represents a 13.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Leite sold 5,479 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.78, for a total value of $163,164.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 76,174 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,268,461.72. This represents a 6.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on VCYT. UBS Group raised their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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, November 7th. Leerink Partners raised their target price on shares of Veracyte from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $50.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Veracyte from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Veracyte currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $41.25.

Veracyte Stock Performance

Veracyte stock traded up $0.65 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $39.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 714,947 shares, compared to its average volume of 876,752. Veracyte, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.61 and a fifty-two week high of $41.43. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $34.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.07 billion, a PE ratio of -263.93 and a beta of 1.67.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $109.81 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.03) earnings per share. Veracyte's quarterly revenue was up 28.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

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.