Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Acquires 11,303 Shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 117.7% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 20,910 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,303 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Veracyte were worth $463,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in VCYT. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Veracyte by 27.3% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 7,323 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $201,000 after acquiring an additional 1,571 shares during the period. OLD National Bancorp IN bought a new stake in Veracyte in the 4th quarter valued at $205,000. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in Veracyte in the 4th quarter valued at $220,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Veracyte by 353.7% in the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 8,448 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $232,000 after acquiring an additional 6,586 shares during the period. Finally, Wrapmanager Inc. grew its holdings in Veracyte by 28.7% in the 4th quarter. Wrapmanager Inc. now owns 11,726 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $323,000 after buying an additional 2,617 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on VCYT. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Veracyte from $32.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 15th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on Veracyte from $33.00 to $27.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Veracyte has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.50.

Veracyte Stock Performance

VCYT opened at $22.73 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -24.18 and a beta of 1.70. Veracyte, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.61 and a 52-week high of $30.52. The business’s fifty day moving average is $21.11 and its 200-day moving average is $23.29.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by $0.17. The company had revenue of $96.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.35 million. Veracyte had a negative return on equity of 1.42% and a negative net margin of 18.16%. Veracyte’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.11) EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Veracyte, Inc. will post -0.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Veracyte

In other news, Director Karin Eastham sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.97, for a total transaction of $52,425.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 33,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $694,631.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Muna Bhanji sold 3,870 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.32, for a total value of $78,638.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 23,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $469,493.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Karin Eastham sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.97, for a total value of $52,425.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 33,125 shares in the company, valued at $694,631.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 17,909 shares of company stock valued at $379,882. 1.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.