The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Acquires 2,135 Shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,766 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,135 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.06% of Veracyte worth $927,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Veracyte by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,118,211 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $195,822,000 after purchasing an additional 52,699 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted 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 worth $201,000 after purchasing an additional 1,571 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its position in Veracyte by 117.7% during the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 20,910 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 11,303 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co increased its stake in Veracyte by 54.4% during the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 22,860 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $507,000 after purchasing an additional 8,050 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Veracyte by 9.1% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,325 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $207,000 after buying an additional 778 shares during the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Karin Eastham sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $187,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 33,228 shares in the company, valued at $830,700. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Evan/ Fa Jones sold 20,457 shares of Veracyte stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.20, for a total value of $658,715.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 34,343 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,105,844.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Karin Eastham sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.00, for a total transaction of $187,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 33,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $830,700. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 45,918 shares of company stock worth $1,399,541. Company insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Veracyte Stock Up 5.4 %

Shares of VCYT opened at $34.02 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.19 and a beta of 1.67. Veracyte, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.61 and a 52 week high of $35.51. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $31.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.07.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.10. Veracyte had a negative net margin of 13.52% and a positive return on equity of 1.52%. The business had revenue of $114.43 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $100.27 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.12) EPS. The business’s revenue was up 26.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on VCYT shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Veracyte from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on Veracyte from $31.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Guggenheim started coverage on shares of Veracyte in a report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.75.

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.