Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) Shares Sold by UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lowered its holdings in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT - Free Report) by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 144,404 shares of the biotechnology company's stock after selling 17,105 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned approximately 0.19% of Veracyte worth $4,916,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Veracyte by 67.4% during the second quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 1,241,671 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $26,907,000 after purchasing an additional 500,020 shares in the last quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Veracyte by 2.1% during the second quarter. Granite Investment Partners LLC now owns 934,994 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $20,261,000 after buying an additional 19,244 shares during the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 625,536 shares of the biotechnology company's stock valued at $13,555,000 after buying an additional 7,219 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Veracyte in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $12,279,000. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC grew its position in shares of Veracyte by 19.0% in the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 444,299 shares of the biotechnology company's stock worth $15,124,000 after buying an additional 71,086 shares during the last quarter.

Veracyte Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:VCYT traded up $0.89 during trading on Thursday, hitting $44.40. The stock had a trading volume of 645,757 shares, compared to its average volume of 770,859. Veracyte, Inc. has a 12-month low of $18.61 and a 12-month high of $46.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -296.00 and a beta of 1.69. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.33.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Leerink Partners increased their target price on shares of Veracyte from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Veracyte from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on Veracyte from $37.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group upped their target price on Veracyte from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Veracyte in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $50.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Veracyte presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $41.13.

Insider Activity at Veracyte

In other news, insider John Leite sold 1,050 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.25, for a total transaction of $45,412.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 73,810 shares in the company, valued at $3,192,282.50. This trade represents a 1.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Jonathan Wygant sold 956 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.36, for a total value of $41,452.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 40,270 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,746,107.20. The trade was a 2.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,211 shares of company stock worth $787,542 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company's stock.

Veracyte Profile

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.