Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Holdings in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Free Report) by 32.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,486 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 14,712 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Veracyte were worth $1,038,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in VCYT. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $58,000. Castleview Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Veracyte in the third quarter worth about $87,000. Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Veracyte during the 3rd quarter worth $91,000. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Veracyte by 13.7% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,677 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 21.7% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,778 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 496 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Veracyte

In other news, CAO Jonathan Wygant sold 5,032 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.89, for a total value of $215,822.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 42,313 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,814,804.57. The trade was a 10.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Leite sold 1,050 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.25, for a total transaction of $45,412.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 73,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,192,282.50. This represents a 1.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 14,038 shares of company stock valued at $605,297. Corporate insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Veracyte Price Performance

Veracyte stock traded up $1.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $41.91. 414,297 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 517,448. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -279.40 and a beta of 1.71. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $39.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.59. Veracyte, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.61 and a 52-week high of $46.00.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.16. Veracyte had a negative net margin of 2.18% and a positive return on equity of 3.02%. The company had revenue of $115.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.81 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.03) earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 28.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.38 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on VCYT shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Veracyte from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Leerink Partners boosted their price objective 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. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Veracyte from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Veracyte from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $37.00 price objective (down from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a report on Thursday, December 5th. One research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $41.13.

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.