China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 5,790 Shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT)

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Veracyte, Inc. (NASDAQ:VCYT) by 64.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,773 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,790 shares during the quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Veracyte were worth $503,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Veracyte by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 2,778 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Values First Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Veracyte during the third quarter valued at $91,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Veracyte by 127.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 29,455 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $1,003,000 after acquiring an additional 16,512 shares during the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC bought a new stake in Veracyte in the 3rd quarter valued at $87,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Veracyte by 100.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,781 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 1,395 shares in the last quarter.

Veracyte Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of VCYT opened at $35.00 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.17. The company has a market cap of $2.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -37.20 and a beta of 1.67. Veracyte, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.61 and a twelve month high of $35.51.

Veracyte (NASDAQ:VCYT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The biotechnology company reported $0.07 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $114.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $100.27 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.12) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 26.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Veracyte, Inc. will post 0.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group started coverage on Veracyte in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim started coverage on Veracyte in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $40.00 price objective on the stock. Leerink Partners increased their target price on Veracyte from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of Veracyte from $31.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Veracyte from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Veracyte news, Director Evan/ Fa Jones sold 1,032 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.03, for a total value of $30,990.96. Following the transaction, the director now owns 46,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,393,782.39. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Evan/ Fa Jones sold 1,032 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.03, for a total transaction of $30,990.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 46,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,393,782.39. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John Leite sold 5,479 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.78, for a total transaction of $163,164.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 76,174 shares in the company, valued at $2,268,461.72. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 37,141 shares of company stock valued at $1,180,116. 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.