JPMorgan Chase & Co. Purchases 88,384 Shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Free Report) by 25.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 434,971 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after buying an additional 88,384 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.56% of Veracyte worth $17,225,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its stake in shares of Veracyte by 31.4% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 6,599,264 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $261,331,000 after purchasing an additional 1,576,432 shares in the last quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. increased its stake in Veracyte by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. now owns 206,227 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $8,163,000 after buying an additional 1,973 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Veracyte by 602.6% during the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 122,003 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $4,831,000 after buying an additional 104,639 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Veracyte by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,211,612 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $325,180,000 after acquiring an additional 463,098 shares during the period. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Veracyte during the fourth quarter worth approximately $610,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their target price on Veracyte from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Craig Hallum assumed coverage on shares of Veracyte in a report on Thursday, March 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $51.00 price target on shares of Veracyte in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Guggenheim cut their price objective on Veracyte from $45.00 to $37.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $45.00 target price on shares of Veracyte in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Veracyte presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $42.60.

Veracyte Price Performance

Veracyte stock traded down $0.39 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $31.14. The company had a trading volume of 134,670 shares, compared to its average volume of 952,409. The firm's fifty day moving average is $33.56 and its 200-day moving average is $37.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.43 billion, a P/E ratio of -208.10 and a beta of 2.03. Veracyte, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.61 and a fifty-two 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.07. Veracyte had a positive return on equity of 3.02% and a negative net margin of 2.18%. The firm had revenue of $118.63 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $110.73 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.39) earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.68 earnings per share for the current year.

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.