Parallel Advisors LLC Acquires 8,429 Shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Free Report) by 6,108.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,567 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,429 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC's holdings in Veracyte were worth $339,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in VCYT. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Veracyte by 49.7% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 714 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Veracyte by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 22,276 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $882,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Veracyte by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 16,630 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $659,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Veracyte by 13.7% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,677 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Veracyte by 34.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,909 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the period.

Remove Ads

Veracyte Trading Down 7.8 %

Shares of Veracyte stock traded down $2.64 on Wednesday, reaching $31.05. 1,235,084 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 811,078. Veracyte, Inc. has a one year low of $18.61 and a one year high of $47.32. The company has a 50-day moving average of $38.19 and a 200 day moving average of $37.78. The company has a market capitalization of $2.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -207.00 and a beta of 1.80.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Karin Eastham sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.30, for a total value of $403,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,497 shares of the company's stock, valued at $745,429.10. This trade represents a 35.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VCYT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Veracyte from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $37.00 price objective (down previously from $38.00) on shares of Veracyte in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $51.00 target price on shares of Veracyte in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of Veracyte in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Veracyte from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.40.

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.